CLUELESS

I have this habit when reading to make a list of interesting words I encounter. Usually they are words I don't know the meaning of, like "embrocation" (the act of rubbing a part of the body with a liniment) or "susurration" (a whispering sound), and sometimes they are words that I know the definition of and really like but never think to use — words like "baleful," "asperity," "sang-froid." Writing them down is a reminder to look them up and/or to use them.

What I overlook is perfectly ordinary words that I say all the time but never think about. I've been reading this nonfiction book called "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective." It's about a famous 19th century murder case that inspired not only the development of modern detective work but also the creation of modern detective fiction. There's a great passage about mystery jargon that discusses the word "clue."

The word "clue" derives from "clew," meaning a ball of thread or yarn. It had come to mean "that which points the way" because of the Greek myth in which Theseus uses a ball of yarn, given to him by Ariadne, to find his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth. The writers of the 19th century still had this image in mind when they used the word. (such as the common image of "unraveling" a mystery).

Most people probably already know this, but it was new to me and is a reminder that occasionally I should investigate words that I imagine are completely familiar to me.