Clews or Clues?

If you read any of the old Shadow magazines or their reprints, you'll find the word 'clew' is used instead of the word 'clue.'  The first time I read 'clew' I simply thought the editors were hooked on phonics and that's how they spelled it consistently throughout the story.  But as I've read more of The Shadow's adventures, I noticed that 'clew' was always the word used for 'clue.'  

I had always intended on doing a little research into the difference between 'clew' and 'clue' but never got around to it.  Today, however, the Merriam Webster word of the day was 'clew!'  I thought that was awesome and just had to share it on the blog!

Here's what Merriam Webster has to say about 'clew':

• noun:  something that guides through an intricate procedure or maze of difficulties : clue

They go on to provide a bit of a background for the word:  

• The "ball of thread" meaning of clew (from Middle English clewe and ultimately from Old English cliewen) has been with us since before the 12th century. In Greek mythology, Ariadne gave a ball of thread to Theseus so that he could use it to find his way out of her father's labyrinth. 
• This, and similar tales, gave rise to the use of clew for anything that could guide a person through a difficult place. 
• This use led, in turn, to the meaning "a piece of evidence that leads one toward the solution of a problem." 
• Today, the variant spelling clue, which appeared in the 17th century, is the more common spelling for the "evidence" sense, but you'll find clew in some famous works of literature. 

I thought this was very interesting and wanted to share it here on the blog.  I didn't have a clue about the background of the word clew, and now I do!