clue-by-four

noun

A notional weapon used to knock sense into the clueless.

Similar
cluestickcluebat
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Meanings

nounclue-by-four (plural clue-by-fours)

plural clue-by-fours · alternative clue by four

  1. figurativelyhumorousinformalA notional weapon used to knock sense into the clueless.

    1998, TCurryFan, Re: Carlos and Ashley?, alt.fan.power-rangers, http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.power-rangers/msg/46e0bac76b6c462d?dmode=source&hl=en Nah... I'm not gonna waste a good clue-by-four on someone with no brain...

    3 more examples

    If I think they're a jerk who's using a march to show how cool and open minded they are, I pull out the ol' clue by four.

    1993, anonymous author, “Re: Recent Events from the Horseman”, in alt.sex.bondage (Usenet)

    Sometimes the magic "clue-by-four" is so obvious that even your oblivious rock-headed uncle picks up on it.

    2003, Willow Polson, The Veil's Edge: Exploring the Boundaries of Magic, page 152

    We also keep a traditional clue-by-four and a training brick. You know, for when the problem is wetware-related.

    2025 February 26, AngryCod, “Comment on 'When Marketing decided to touch the database'”, in r/talesfromtechsupport, Reddit, retrieved 01 Mar 2025

    Synonyms: cluestick, cluebat

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA notional weapon used to knock sense into the clueless.

Similar
cluestickcluebat
Also see
cluebatclue stick

Origin

Blend of clue + two-by-four.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

clue-by-four. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clue-by-four

MLA

“clue-by-four.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clue-by-four. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “clue-by-four,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clue-by-four.

Source: clue-by-four on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.