clew vs cue

clew

verb
  • to roll into a ball 

  • (transitive and intransitive) to raise the lower corner(s) of (a sail) 

noun
  • Yarn or thread as used to guide one's way through a maze or labyrinth; a guide, a clue. 

  • The cords suspending a hammock. 

  • The sheets so attached to a sail. 

  • The lower corner(s) of a sail to which a sheet is attached for trimming the sail (adjusting its position relative to the wind); the metal loop or cringle in the corner of the sail, to which the sheet is attached. (on a triangular sail) The trailing corner relative to the wind direction. 

cue

verb
  • To take aim on the cue ball with the cue and hit it. 

  • To spark or provoke. 

  • To form into a cue; to braid; to twist. 

  • To give someone a cue signal. 

noun
  • A straight tapering stick used to hit the balls in various games. 

  • A marker or signal that triggers something, such as the start of an audio recording. 

  • The last words of a play actor's speech, serving as an intimation for the next actor to speak; any word or words which serve to remind an actor to speak or to do something; a catchword. 

  • The name of the Latin-script letter Q. 

  • An action or event that is a signal for somebody to do something. 

  • A hint or intimation. 

How often have the words clew and cue occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )