to hit with the clue stick

9.9

To explain something clearly so someone finally understands

idiom

Informal

: dar una pista

After several failed attempts, I finally had to hit him with the clue stick and explain the solution.

Examples

Sometimes you just have to hit your coworker with the clue stick to get the point across.
She didn't understand the instructions until someone hit her with the clue stick.
Don't you think it's time to hit with the clue stick?
She finally hit with the clue stick after I explained it again.
After several failed attempts, I finally had to hit him with the clue stick and explain the solution.
She didn't understand the instructions until someone hit her with the clue stick.
Sometimes you just have to hit your coworker with the clue stick to get the point across.

Synonyms

to clue

vsto hit with the clue stick

25 2.6

To give someone a small hint or information about something

gives clear necessary information rather than a small or subtle hint

to clue in

vsto hit with the clue stick

1 3.9

To tell someone about something they did not know

gives obvious needed information often after someone failed to understand

How Obvious

to hit with the clue stick

Informal

9.9

to spell out

79 3.5

to point out

∞ 1.8

to clue

25 2.6

to hint

136 2.0

Surface Forms

hit with the clue stick infinitive

hit with the clue stick past

hit with the clue stick past participle

hitting with the clue stick present participle

hits with the clue stick third person singular

Morphology

hit + with + the + clue + stick

The parts ('hit' + 'with' + 'clue' + 'stick') transparently suggest using an instrument to deliver a 'clue' — i.e., forcefully giving information — so a learner who knows the words can infer a sense of a strongly delivered hint. However, the construction is metaphorical, nonstandard, and pragmatically specific (used after someone has failed to understand), so the exact intended nuance is not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

The phrase hit with the clue stick creates a funny image: you hit someone lightly with a clue stick — a stick that gives them a 'clue' — to wake them up to the answer. That's why it means 'to give someone an obvious hint or explain something after they did not understand'.