Word.ws English Dictionary

clue stick

clue stick noun: a metaphorical stick used to beat information or understanding into a slow learner.

Noun

clue stick (plural clue sticks)

  1. (idiomatic) A metaphorical stick used to beat information or understanding into a slow learner.
    • Leadbetter needs to be thwacked with a legal clue stick. The law he's talking about applies only to Internet service providers, not reporters.2003 October 10, Declan McCullagh, “My letter from the FBI”, in ZDNet, retrieved 14 Apr 2009
    • I think the author needs a good whack with the clue stick.2009 April 6, William Hurley, “Does the cloud really need a manifesto?”, in InfoWorld, retrieved 14 Apr 2009

Synonyms of clue stick

Forms of clue stick

pluralclue sticks
alternative formcluestick

Origin of clue stick

From clue + stick.

Questions about clue stick

What does clue stick mean?
Clue stick means a metaphorical stick used to beat information or understanding into a slow learner.
What part of speech is clue stick?
Clue stick is a noun.
What is the plural of clue stick?
The plural of clue stick is clue sticks.

Words near clue stick in the dictionary

  1. clue by four
  2. clue by fours
  3. clue card
  4. clue cards
  5. clue in
  6. clue stick
  7. clue sticks
  8. clue up
  9. clue-by-four
  10. clue-by-fours
  11. cluebat

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: clue stick (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-clue stick.ogg.

Cite this entry: “clue stick.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/clue_stick. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.