nacreous (adj.) = mother-of-pearl in colour (pronounced ‘nak-ree-uhs’) from the Middle French, nacre: the type of shellfish that produces mother-of-pearl; and ultimately from the Arabic, naqur: hunting horn (which evokes the shape of the mother-of-pearl-coloured mollusk shell)
e.g. When you fry chopped onions with some butter, the onions soon turn nacreous
nebbish (noun) = a pathetically weak man from the Yiddish, nebekh: poor thing
e.g. Woody Allen’s films often feature a nebbish who’s involved with two women, neither of whom he can bring himself to leave
necromancer (noun) = one who can predict the future because they practise black magic (pronounced ‘nek-ruh-man-ser’) from the Greek, nekromanteia: divination from an exhumed corpse, from nekros: dead body + manteia: divination; necromancy literally means ‘one who claims to predict the future by communicating with the dead’
e.g. John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) was the first American to be worth $1bn because of his extraordinary powers of prediction: it was as if the man was a necromancer
necropolis (noun) = a large cemetery (pronounced ‘nuh-krop-uh-lis’) from the Greek, nekros: dead person + polis: city
e.g. Paris has a necropolis called the Cimetière du Montparnasse that contains the tombs of such luminaries as Jean-Paul Sartre, on whose gravestone tourists leave fresh, unlit cigarettes daily (apparently for the dead author’s consumption)
noir (adj.) = (of a novel or film) featuring a crime story peppered with sex and violence, and containing a cynical and self-destructive detective (who is often an amateur) for full explanation, see box below
e.g. The most famous recent example of noir fiction is The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo, which features an amateur detective investigating grimly violent murders, and enjoying multiple sexual relations; the novel was also made into a film noir
‘noir’ is a term used in just two phrases: ‘noir fiction’ (to describe a certain kind of crime novel) and ‘film noir’ (denoting a particular film genre). The term was first applied to American films in the mid-1940s by observers in France, who described such bleak films as being ‘noir’ (meaning, of course, ‘black’ in French).
To qualify for the term ‘noir’, a plot must revolve around a crime, and feature a self-destructive and cynical protagonist. Sex also looms large in the plot. If there is an investigator, he is invariably a ‘man on the street’, and not a professional detective; and he is usually linked to the crime, via a blood relation, for example.
James M. Cain remains the most famous exponent of the genre. His first novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934), is still cited as the leading example of both noir fiction and film noir (the book was turned into celluloid in 1946). Just 100 pages long, the story concerns a drifter who falls in love with a married woman. They kill her husband and get away with it; but then the woman dies in a car accident and the police wrongly convict her lover of her murder.
nom de guerre (set phrase) = an assumed name under which a person takes part in some form of activity, such as war or business (pronounced ‘nom duh ger’) for full explanation, see box opposite
e.g. Sid Vicious (1957–79), bassist for The Sex Pistols, was in fact born with the name John Simon Ritchie; but when a hamster called Sid bit him, forcing him to exclaim, ‘Sid is really vicious!’, he became known by the nom de guerre Sid Vicious
‘nom de guerre’ is the French for ‘war name’; in Ancien Régime France (c. 1400–1700), a new recruit to the army was given a ‘nom de guerre’ as a form of identification (as identification numbers hadn’t yet been invented). For example, a man known for his prodigious liquor consumption would have the following as his ‘nom de guerre’: ‘prêt-à-boire’ (meaning ‘ready to drink’). Soon these aliases replaced the men’s real family names.
Later, in World War II, French Resistance fighters also adopted a ‘nom de guerre’, so that, if captured by the Nazis, it would be impossible to work out their surname, and there would, therefore, be no reprisal against their families. For the same reason, SAS soldiers still make use of a ‘nom de guerre’ today.
(Incidentally, the other reason to use a ‘nom de guerre’ as a soldier, was that, being called by a different name to the one you use at home, ensured you were divorced from domestic life when in your military frame of mind.)
nonpareil (adj.) (usually placed after noun) = unrivalled (pronounced ‘non-puh-rel’) from the French, non-: not + pareil: equal, ultimately from the Latin, par: equal
e.g. Steve Jobs is generally agreed to have been an innovator nonpareil
nonplussed (adj.) = (of a person) so surprised that they are unsure how to react for full explanation, see box below
e.g. If, rushing through Soho on the way to the theatre, you’re accosted by an individual offering you a ‘special massage’, you’re likely to feel a little nonplussed
‘nonplussed’ derives from the Latin ‘non plus’: ‘not more’; ‘to nonplus’ means ‘to bring someone to a state of nonplus’, and therefore, ‘to make someone feel like they can do nothing more (because of their shock)’, and, hence, ‘to perplex someone’.
But in recent years, a new meaning has started up in the United States, with ‘nonplussed’ beginning to mean ‘unperturbed’. This is the exact opposite of its original meaning – and both meanings are fighting it out.
So, if you choose to use the word ‘nonplussed’, no one can be sure what you actually mean (as you could mean one of two completely opposed things: this new meaning is the antithesis of the first one). The best thing is perhaps to avoid using the word ‘nonplussed’ altogether, and simply to use instead the word ‘bemused’, if you’re confused by a sudden happening – and the word ‘unperturbed’ if you’re inured to this same happening.
normalcy (noun) = the usual state of affairs; note that ‘normalcy’ is just a fancy way of saying ‘normality’ derived from the word normal; normalcy has been associated since 1920 with US President Warren G. Harding, who was prone to linguistic gaffes–such as saying ‘normalcy’ when he meant to say ‘normality’
e.g. Pavarotti’s funeral was so significant in Italy that it was broadcast live on CNN: it was days before the population calmed down and normalcy was restored
notwithstanding (preposition; usually placed after the noun) = in spite of an expression adopted by English from the Latin: a literal translation of the Latin phrase, ‘non obstante’ which means ‘being no hindrance’
e.g. Frequent rows notwithstanding, theirs was a happy marriage
nugatory (adj.) = of no importance (pronounced ‘nyoo-guh-tawr-ee’) from the Latin, nugatorius, from nugari: to trifle, from nugae: jests
e.g. Kim Jong Il behaved as if the United State’s threats to his nation were nugatory