Origin of the word “clue”: a ball of thread. “Clue” derives from “clew
Origin of the word “clue”: a ball of thread. “Clue” derives from “clew”, an archaic word for a ball of thread or twine.The reason? It references the famous Greek story of Theseus and the Minotaur. Kept in a labyrinth by King Minos, the Minotaur of the myth was a terrifying monster who would eat the human sacrifices sent to it.The daughter of King Minos, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus, one of the sacrifices. She gave him a ball of twine to unravel behind him as he went into the labyrinth, so that he could easily escape once he had killed the monster.Alluding to this story, “clew”/”clue” came to mean a ball of twine that helped one find their way through a maze, then something which guided the way. From this it meant information that lead to a certain conclusion, or evidence used in the solving of a crime. -- source link
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