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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Theseus' clew #207390 09/28/12 01:44 AM 09/28/12 01:44 AM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie OP Carpal Tunnel Jackie   OP Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Today the History Channel had programs about different mythological figures, and I was fascinated to hear this (quote from the Online Etymology Dictionary): clue (n.) 1590s, phonetic variant of clew "a ball of thread or yarn," with reference to the one Theseus used as a guide out of the Labyrinth. The purely figurative sense of "that which points the way" is from 1620s. Re: Theseus' clew [Re: Jackie] #207398 09/28/12 11:09 AM 09/28/12 11:09 AM Joined: Nov 2011 Posts: 1,075 Lancaster, UK Rhubarb Commando old hand Rhubarb Commando   old hand Joined: Nov 2011 Posts: 1,075 Lancaster, UK That's fascinating, Jackie! I had only coe across the word before as a sailing term - meaing the lower corners of a sail. Hence, "to clew-up", meaning to gather the sail together on the yard arm as a preparation for furling it. I'm immortal until proven otherwise Re: Theseus' clew [Re: Jackie] #207458 10/01/12 08:50 AM 10/01/12 08:50 AM Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 1,706 down under Candy Pooh-Bah Candy   Pooh-Bah Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 1,706 down under So...Jackie if its 'purely figurative sense of, that which points the way' it has noting to do with unravelling a ball of wool or string on the way through with idea that one can find way out again? Re: Theseus' clew [Re: Jackie] #207460 10/01/12 01:15 PM 10/01/12 01:15 PM Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Avy old hand Avy   old hand Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Speaking of Theseaus, does anyone know of a good book that covers the the story of King Minos, Minotaur, Deadelus, Theseaus it all its gory and glorius detail; or must I be happy with itty bitty mythical bytes from Bullfinch's mythology and suchlike? PS: Sorry jackie I am not "hi jacking" the thread really. Re: Theseus' clew [Re: Avy] #207466 10/01/12 02:34 PM 10/01/12 02:34 PM Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel zmjezhd   Carpal Tunnel Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh a good book that covers the the story of King Minos, Minotaur, Deadelus, Theseaus it all its gory and glorius detail; You might try looking up those persons and animal in The Oxford Classical Dictionary and see the references and citations there. The great thing (or not so great depending on your particular tastes) is that the myths and legends of the Romans and the Greek is pretty much spread out over a wide range of texts, e.g., I looked up Minos in my copy (3rd edition) and the first citation I came across was to the Iliad. Also, different texts may give different stories as these classical mythologies were anything but standardized. Ceci n'est pas un seing. Re: Theseus' clew [Re: zmjezhd] #207476 10/02/12 02:23 AM 10/02/12 02:23 AM Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Avy old hand Avy   old hand Joined: Jun 2000 Posts: 724 Oh okay! Wow. Great suggestion. Thanks! Re: Theseus' clew [Re: Avy] #208631 01/01/13 08:34 PM 01/01/13 08:34 PM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 M maverick Carpal Tunnel maverick   Carpal Tunnel M Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 Hi Avy or you could try Mary Renault - her novels based on classical mytholgy are (imho) never less than great reads, and often reach to the margins of poetry. The King Must Die Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------   Information and announcements   Q&A about words   Wordplay and fun   Words and languages in schools   Miscellany   Weekly Themes   Looking for (writers, speakers, ...) (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) ------   Words from medicine   Beheading words   Meta-words   Words from classical mythology   Animal Safari   Words with unusual etymologies   Eponyms or words derived from people's names.   Loanwords from German   English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message View Homepage Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts View Profile Send Private Message Follow User Show Forum Posts Forum Statistics Forums16 Topics13,883 Posts224,834 Members9,056 Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011 Newest Members Nikki1221, Veezkneez, LOC, Luna, wordie 9056 Registered Users Who's Online Now 0 registered members (), 219 guests, and 3 spiders. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters(30 Days) wofahulicodoc 49 LukeJavan8 24 A C Bowden 12 LOC 1 Wordsmith 1 Top Posters(All Time) wwh 13,858 Faldage 13,803 Jackie 11,613 tsuwm 10,538 LukeJavan8 9,158 wofahulicodoc 7,967 Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210 AnnaStrophic 6,511 Wordwind 6,296 of troy 5,400

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