Words Worth Knowing: Clue
One of my favorite board games is Clue. It is about that a murder has occurred and it is the duty of the players to become detectives and find out who was the murderer, with which weapon and in which room of the huge mansion the crime occurred, and it is the same players who have the clues to deduce it. Following clues is a fascinating activity, and to discover the etymology of words you must also follow a series of clues throughout history, until you find out who, when and where each word was invented. Follow this trail with me towards ancient Greece to discover the etymology of the word Clue.
Clue Dictionary Definition
Clue: Noun. A sign or some information that helps you to find the answer to a problem, question, or mystery. (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)
Clue: Noun. A word or words giving an indication as to what is to be inserted in a particular space in a crossword. (Oxford English Dictionary)
Clue: Noun. Idea, Notion. (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)
Clue: Verb. To provide with a clue. To give reliable information (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
Of course the word clue is in Common Usage. I remember that there was even an educational TV show called “Blue’s Clues,” in which kids shouted “A clue! A clue!” to the TV, so the character could discover it. Clue is one of the 10,000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary.
Read the following three quotes so you never run out of clues on how to use this word:
− « The Queensland government doesn’t have a clue what’s happening in terms of how underground water is being managed ».
From Brisbane Times website Article: Politicians have no clue what effect Adani will have on water: expert. 2019
− « Game of Thrones favorite Jon Snow seemingly got the raw end of the deal when the show finished but perhaps his finale was sealed from the very beginning in a very subtle clue ».
From Express website Article: Game of Thrones: Jon Snow’s finale fate sealed in season 1 clue you missed. 2019
− « Eyewitness video from Sunday’s deadly tower crane collapse near downtown could offer a clue to federal investigators and raises questions about whether the crane was moving in the wind like it was designed ».
From WFAA website Article: Eyewitness video offers clue about deadly crane collapse. 2019
Through the labyrinth of the Minotaur
Many of the words in our language come from ancient Greek, but I bet you never imagined that the word Clue comes from nothing less than the famous myth of the Minotaur. Do you know it?
The gods of Greek mythology did on earth as they saw fit, especially if they were offended. On one occasion that Poseidon felt offended, he made a woman fall in love with a bull, and procreate a half bull half human, what is known today as a Minotaur. This being was terribly dangerous, its size was gigantic and fed on humans, so it was locked in a labyrinth, and every so often people were sent in sacrifice so that the Minotaur did not decide to go out and devour all the people of the city of Athens.
On one of those occasions, Theseus, a renowned hero of Athens, offered to enter the labyrinth and murder the Minotaur in order to put an end once and for all to this bloody tradition, but even if he managed to reach the Minotaur, how could he find his way out of the labyrinth again?
The answer to this question came from Ariadne, a Cretan princess who was in love with Theseus. It occurred to her that if Theseus carried a ball of yarn in his pocket, he could tie the tip to the entrance of the labyrinth and unroll it as he advanced through its intricate corridors, which would help him not only to avoid passing repeatedly through the same place but also to be able to return on his steps when he had achieved his mission.
This was exactly what our hero did, and according to the myth he managed to kill the Minotaur and save the people of Athens.
Since ancient times this myth has been mentioned by many authors, and one of them was Geoffrey Chaucer, a 14th century English poet. In writing his poem he spoke of Theseus using “clew” to move through the labyrinth, the term used in Middle English for a ball of thread. This term comes from the Old English Cliewen, which comes from the West Germanic *kleuwin, and this in turn from the Proto-Germanic *kliwjo-, which means “sphere, ball, skein, ball of thread or yarn”. The root of these words is in the PIE *gleu-, which was a verb, and meant “to gather into a mass, conglomerate”.
Towards the end of the Middle Ages the spelling of the word Clew was corrected along with another large group of words ending in “ew”, becoming Clue, the word we know today, and with the meaning we give it today. So, following this set of clues we can only conclude that Geoffrey Chaucer was responsible for the creation of this word, by writing in our language about this fabulous Greek myth in which all mysteries were solved thanks to a ball of yarn.
