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cue

KYOO /kjuː/

nounverbB1

neutral

A thing said or done that serves as a signal to an actor or other performer to enter or to begin their speech or performance.

A precise trigger point. Missing a cue can disrupt the entire flow of a live performance.

The story behind the word. The origin of 'cue' is highly debated. One popular theory is that it comes from the letter 'Q', used in 16th-century playbooks as an abbreviation for the Latin 'quando' (meaning 'when'), indicating to actors when to speak. Another theory suggests it comes from the French 'queue' (tail), referring to the tail-end of the preceding actor's speech.

Word relationships

signal: A 'signal' is any general indicator, while a 'cue' is specifically a theatrical trigger for a planned action.
prompt: A 'prompt' is a reminder of forgotten lines, whereas a 'cue' is the scheduled signal to begin speaking.

Commonly confused with

queue: 'Queue' refers to a line of waiting people or files, homophonic but completely unrelated in meaning.

Word family

cued (verb (past)): Signaled to begin.

Collocations

miss a cue
take a cue
visual cue

Idioms & expressions

on cue
right on cue

Example sentences

"The actor missed his cue and stood frozen in the wings, causing a long pause on stage." A tense moment backstage.
"The stage manager will cue the lighting technician to dim the lights as the scene ends." Using the word as a verb for signaling.

Memory hook

A 'cue' tells you 'when' (Q) to make your move. The signal to start.

When not to use

Do not confuse with 'queue' (a line of people waiting) or 'cue' (a billiard stick).

Fun facts

In early theater, actors only received 'sides'—scrolls containing only their own lines and the final words of the preceding lines (their cues) to save paper.

cue