Clue
“I don’t have a clue what he is taking about. I can never follow the thread of what he is saying.”
The Germanic word clew, also seen in Middle English as clewe or cleue, referred to a ball of thread or yarn.
Over time, the word clew evolved to become the word clue. By the 1590s, a clue was something that guides or directs in an intricate case; for example, the clues in a puzzle or a game or a murder mystery. The use of clue to mean that which points the way is from the 1620s. The use of clue to refer to something that bewildered person does not have is from 1948.
Would it help to know that the word clue or clew supposedly has its origins in the Labyrinth story from Greek mythology?
In the story, Theseus and his lover Ariadne enter the Labyrinth to kill a monster known as the Minotaur. Ariadne gives Theseus a ball of yarn or thread to unroll as they work their way into the Labyrinth so as to mark their path back out of the Labyrinth after accomplishing their mission.
The adjective clueless, meaning trackless, is from 1817. Clueness, meaning ignorant or uninformed, from 1943, is reported to have its origins in Royal Air Force slang from the 1930s. Clueless, as a term of student slang (“They’re clueless”), is from 1985.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
The Germanic word clew, also seen in Middle English as clewe or cleue, referred to a ball of thread or yarn.
Over time, the word clew evolved to become the word clue. By the 1590s, a clue was something that guides or directs in an intricate case; for example, the clues in a puzzle or a game or a murder mystery. The use of clue to mean that which points the way is from the 1620s. The use of clue to refer to something that bewildered person does not have is from 1948.
Would it help to know that the word clue or clew supposedly has its origins in the Labyrinth story from Greek mythology?
In the story, Theseus and his lover Ariadne enter the Labyrinth to kill a monster known as the Minotaur. Ariadne gives Theseus a ball of yarn or thread to unroll as they work their way into the Labyrinth so as to mark their path back out of the Labyrinth after accomplishing their mission.
The adjective clueless, meaning trackless, is from 1817. Clueness, meaning ignorant or uninformed, from 1943, is reported to have its origins in Royal Air Force slang from the 1930s. Clueless, as a term of student slang (“They’re clueless”), is from 1985.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
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