English seems to have several similar-sounding words that have related meanings. Personally, I am having a bit of a problem / difficulty understanding the difference between a clue and a cue (apart from "snooker cues"). My intuition tells me that while the former is more general, the latter is more specific and is limited to gestures or sounds.
I want to know whether the word "cue" always carries the connotation of a forceful, coercive, interaction mode, or whether the imperativeness associated with a cue's call to action is always based upon a preestablished agreement between the person or device issuing the cue and the person responding to such cues.
As an reasonable example, I would like to ask about the exact meaning of the word "cue" in Cued Speech for the Deaf. Why is the speech cued, and not clued?
Take also the audible cues provided by screen readers for the blind such as TalkBack on Android with Explore By Touch enabled. I guess the word here means prompt, but I am not sure about whether it carries any other specific connotations.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary carries the following definitions 2.1.b and 3.1, and I am interested in their direct comparison:
something serving a comparable purpose : hint
and
to give a cue to : prompt
In response to Andrew's answer:
Similarly, anything can be a cue, as long as it signals meaningful information to someone.
What would that information be needed for, if not to solve a problem. Thus, while a clue is a cue, it also sends to me, that under this definition, a cue would also be a clue.