Word list: N


NATO

Your navel is your umbilicus, or belly button in common parlance. Naval means “of the navy”, like a naval officer.

Nestlé

Netherlands, the

Not Holland. Strictly speaking, Holland refers to just the two provinces of North and South Holland, not the whole of the Netherlands.

net zero

No need for initial capitals. And no hyphen unless it’s being used adjectivally.

never mind

Two words (unless it’s part of the obsolete expression “pay something no nevermind”).

nimby

Acronym of “not in my back yard”. No need to capitalise it, not even the initial letter. And the plural is nimbys (not “nimbies”).

non

There’s no such word as non on its own, except in established (Latin) phrases such as persona non grata. It can usually only be part of a compound: without a hyphen (as in nonentity) or with a hyphen (as in non-executive).

no one

Two words, no hyphen.

Nordic countries

Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland and associated territories. See also Scandinavia.

north

See compass points.

northeast

See compass points.

northwest

See compass points.

not

Some writers feel compelled to emphasise the word “not” in bold or caps, lest the reader fail to spot it, presumably – as in “Abusive or aggressive behaviour towards our staff will NOT be tolerated” or “Applications received after the deadline will NOT be considered”. I can assure you, it’s not necessary. (See what I did there?)