“Clew” or “Clue”—Which to use?

“Clew” or “Clue”

Overview

clew / clue are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

clew: (noun) a ball of yarn or cord or thread.

clue: (noun) evidence that helps to solve a problem. (verb) roll into a ball.

Pronunciation

clew: NA

clue: k·l·UW

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Examples in Context

Examples of “clew”

"The Tenth Clew" ("The Tenth Clue") (Black Mask,…
…cepha means "stone, ball, clump, clew" and that "rock" is only…

Examples of “clue”

…basic cryptic in which each clue answer is entered into the…
An example of a clue which cannot logically be taken…
…the way of reading the clue that leads to the solution.
Mr. Pinkerton Has the Clue, by David Frome, Popular Library…
…apron; the shoe is the clue to her dream and persuades…
…where they search for a clue to the location of a…
What the clue appears to say when read…
…or the end of a clue.
…Lando Calrissian, they locate the clue - a dagger with Sith…
Click Pix—A picture clue was given for a question.

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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