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Clue

[kloo]

Example Sentences Origin

noun

anything that serves to guide or direct in the solution of a problem, mystery, etc.

clew (defs. 1–4, 6, 12).

verb (used with object)

to direct or point out by a clue.

clew (def. 7).

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Clue is one of our favorite verbs.

So is skedaddle. Does it mean:

to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

to run away hurriedly; flee.

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Verb phrase

clue in,

to provide with useful or reliable information: Clue us in on how these forms are to be filled out.

to make familiar or aware: Has she been clued in about the rules of this office?

Origin:
variant spelling of clew

Synonyms
1. sign, hint, trace, evidence, mark, key.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Clue

Example Sentences

Another way to clue an entry in cryptic crosswords is to call for an anagram of part of the clue itself.

They distract us mid-conversation and make us miss the critical clue in the mystery we're watching at the theater.

Much to his surprise, the shop-floor grunts often have no clue who he is.

EXPAND

Another way to clue an entry in cryptic crosswords is to call for an anagram of part of the clue itself.

They distract us mid-conversation and make us miss the critical clue in the mystery we're watching at the theater.

Much to his surprise, the shop-floor grunts often have no clue who he is.

Our digital nomad is checking in today with another photo clue.

Sugar is still pleasurable even when it isn't sweet-an important clue to the rise of obesity.

But you would not have a clue what she means from our popular culture.

Local climate gives you a clue to the likely soil pH.

The full video will presumably offer a clue to the film's still-perplexing plot.

The answer highlight indicates the current clue and the letter cells of its answer.

The thrill of uncovering the past is matched only by discovering a clue to the future.

Few people have a clue what happens in the state and local budgets.

Our digital nomad is at it again, sending us another tricky clue from down under.

Scientists discover an important clue in predicting future consequences of climate change: the mechanism that moves ice streams.

Today the stone offers no clue to its original purpose.

Put the same number of copies of the clue in the egg as there are kids.

Please, somebody from the humanities give this poor kid a clue.

Another clue comes from dollar/yen positions in international money markets.

Put your thinking caps on and guess where today's photo clue was taken.

Which was a clue that measuring methylation might give away age.

Alas, so many people don't have a clue as to how to make grits.

No flashing lights, no mangled cars, no clue to suggest what went wrong.

The first clue came from studies of the geneticists' pet insect, the humble fruit fly.

See some of the online postings for examples of clever clue writing.

Obviously you can't because you have no real clue what you are talking about.

It provides a clue to the processes beneath our feet.

The initial clue was so subtle that for nearly two days nobody noticed it.

Apart from some subtle badges, the only clue to the car's dual life is the presence of two fuel caps.

Jewelry and other items have been stolen, and now a break-in has been reported, which could be a clue.

Neuroscience has already provided us with one clue to this mystery.

Divers on the expedition first spotted a large anchor, the first clue that there might be some bigger find on the seafloor.

The bottom line is they have no clue about user interface.

But a clue has recently been uncovered from an unlikely source: the local cattle.

The second clue comes from the food-begging call of the chick, which differs slightly from that of real wrens.

The best person to get a bomb through airport security is a person who has no clue that they have one.

Well, another clue is the black and white photographs, hanging salon style in the corner of the exhibit.

The difficulty of making a non-Maoist government is a clue to how misguided it would be.

Because that region is linked to fear and anxiety, the finding provides a new clue to how the parasite manipulates behavior.

Something these pseudo sciences apparently haven't a clue about.

It would therefore give little clue as to what treatment, if any, she should seek if she tested positive.

But she thinks that perhaps the whales' diet might provide a clue.

The stones at the water's edge encrusted in salt are a good clue in that department.

Postmarks can sometimes provide a clue about where the hold-up occurred.

Another clue comes from the predatory habits of the closest living relatives of terror birds-seriema.

The first clue that organic molecules were adrift in space began as a puzzle in itself.

Being able to look at entire anti-atoms might give some further clue.

The humble wiener dog's stubby little legs hold a clue to both human dwarfism and evolution as a whole, a new study says.

Given the extra clue of shirt colour, the preponderance of misattribution was connected with apparent membership of a coalition.

For those who wonder about the sort of relief provided, its logo-a cannabis leaf-is a clue.

They give no clue as to what the colour may actually be.

Another clue may have pointed to the importance of the signals trail.

Novelists and journalists use them because they haven't a clue how to describe unfamiliar speech sounds.

For archaeologists researching the notorious pirate's flagship, every clue is priceless.

Also, the shape and orientation of the available spots on the board give you a clue.

Ask students to find the clue to the word's definition.

Big clue in this sort of letter is the gender of the student shifting from paragraph to paragraph.

Researchers have now identified the first tangible clue in the mystery-a relatively new virus.

And you're sciencey, you're a sciencey person, so you want the answer to a science clue.

I've no clue who the people are under consideration.

Still, many have little clue as to what makes such businesses succeed or fail.

Human trials are needed, but there's already a clue.

Remember you need to send in what all the clues have in common and where each clue comes from to be eligible.

Of course, the vast majority of the group present don't have a clue about the differences between the two monikers.

Laughter or its absence may be the best clue a manager has about the work environment and the mood of employees.

Finding the wreckage might provide a clue as to why the spacecraft failed.

Still, she doesn't have a clue when it comes to cars.

There's a sense here that people who have not walked in your shoes don't have a clue.

Best to have a clue what you are talking about before criticizing others.

They are a key clue for scientists trying to figure out if small moon harbors a liquid water ocean under its frosty surface.

Some faculty seem to have no clue what they are signing when they sign the copyright agreement.

The only trouble is, whoever is behind it gives no clue as to who.

PS and it helps to have some clue of what you are talking about.

People outside of academia don't have much of a clue about anything pertaining to our careers.

As a result, the profession has no clue as to what is the right thing to.

The lack of such a wall might be a clue to how the cryptomycota live.

Now if only my dream job would openbut the deadwood senior faculty would get a clue and retire.

Yet the fact that everybody believes in fairness is a clue to what's wrong with the notion.

Belly has no clue what the end of this summer may bring but in the end it's a summer she will never forget.

No clue as to when these will actually be released, though.

Their research productivity will give you some clue as to what is expected.

The limbs are a critical clue to understanding how modern whales descended from land mammals that once walked on all fours.

The name is the first clue to why alternative fuels are a hot topic for pilots.

That's where idiots who have no clue about your discipline question your.

Even a painting in a museum might provide some clue to a country's standard of living centuries before.

But the kids-ages three, four, and eight-didn't have a clue.

Concealing the phone is critical, as it would clue would-be-thieves in on the revenge.

Unless you have been there, you have no clue how it feels.

The increasingly rainbow-coloured character of organised crime is a clue to its maturity.

He is one of an entire generation without the slightest clue of what a stable republic looks like.

If the patient remembers finding a tick, or develops a rash, that's a big clue.

Even his prowess as a parliamentarian should have been a clue.

Each feature is a clue to how a species makes its living.

But his experiences did not offer a clue to a reliable elixir anxiously sought by long-lifeists.

In the middle column, write any background knowledge you have related to that clue.

The theory is that a person who tracks down an out-of-date article or a crossword clue probably cares enough to pay for.

Though it has not been confirmed it's related to the others, it does add another clue to this bizarre mystery.

Sacking your top bosses while giving little clue why is scarcely a recipe to calm financial markets.

No one seems to even have a clue about quality of life anymore.

The ten-year rise in the gold price yet unaccompanied by inflation should give you a clue.

We had no clue what surprising experiences and monumental revelations awaited.

The seriousness with which he pushes that proposal will be the first real clue as to how genuine his intentions are.

Play five exciting new mini-games to challenge clue solving skills.

When it comes to national security, those people have no clue.

But a mobile phone then became the clue that uncovered the plot.

So the scope of the eventual settlements will give some clue as to whether the legal bandwagon has slowed down.

It was meant to refer to the drivers, who were heading up a track with nary a clue where they were.

All said, observing the cognition of primates may help provide a clue or two into the cognition of humans.

People in this thread don't seem to have a clue what socialism is.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

clue (kluː)

—n
1.	something that helps to solve a problem or unravel a mystery
2.	not to have a clue
	a. to be completely baffled
	b. to be completely ignorant or incompetent

—vb , clues, cluing, clued
3.	(tr; usually foll by in or up) to provide with helpful information

—n, —vb
4.	a variant spelling of clew

[C15: variant of clew]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

clue

phonetic variant of clew (q.v.) "a ball of thread or yarn," with reference to the one Theseus used as a guide out of the Labyrinth. The purely figurative sense of "that which points the way" is from 1620s.

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"Marriage is the clue to human life, but there is no marriage apart from the wheeling sun and the nodding earth, from the straying of the planets and the magnificence of the fixed stars."

-D.H. Lawrence

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