to give the cue
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To give the hint. In another sense cue means a person's frame of mind — in a good or bad skin.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to give the cue” mean?
To give the hint. In another sense cue means a person's frame of mind — in a good or bad skin.
Is “to give the cue” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.