Question

I don''t quite understand what context clues are. Here is what they ask to do:

Circle the words in the bracketed paragraph that are context clues that suggest that askew means "lying in a crooked way".

and here's the paragraph:

Beyond the thirty-three familiar shadows, forty thousand men exhausted by nervous expectation, unable to sleep for romantic dreams of battles yet unfought, lay crazily <u>askew</u> in their uniforms. A mile yet farther on, another army was strewn helter-skelter, turning slow, basting themselves with the thought of what they would do when the time came: a leap, a yell, a blind plunge their strategy, raw youth their protection and benediction.

thank you to anyone who helps :)

Answer 1

Context clues give the reader some idea of the meaning of perhaps unfamiliar words or ideas. I'll underline some of the context clues in your paragraph.

Beyond the thirty-three familiar shadows, forty thousand men exhausted by nervous expectation, unable to sleep for romantic dreams of battles yet unfought, <u>lay crazily askew</u> in their uniforms. A mile yet farther on, another army was <u>strewn helter-skelter, turning slow,</u> basting themselves with the thought of what they would do when the time came: a leap, a yell, a blind plunge their strategy, raw youth their protection and benediction.