Definition of "clew" [clew]

• A ball of yarn or thread. (noun)
• Greek Mythology The ball of thread used by Theseus to find his way out of the labyrinth. (noun)
• The cords by which a hammock is suspended. (noun)
• Nautical One of the two lower corners of a square sail. (noun)
• Nautical The lower aft corner of a fore-and-aft sail. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Red Cow never saw Marcus O'Brien again, and though many conjectures were entertained, no certain clew was ever gained to dispel the mystery of his passing."
• "More and more I puzzled as the days went by, and though I observed perpetual examples of his undisputed sovereignty, never a clew was there as to how it was."
• "The only thing in the nature of a clew was a moccasin track, and that led to young McCrae, whom, for Sheila's sake, he did not wish to involve."