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North By West for Dummies

noun


What does North By West really mean?

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Hey there! I see you're curious about the phrase "North By West." No worries, I'm here to break it down for you in the easiest way possible. So picture this, imagine you're standing in the middle of a field and you want to go north, which means you're heading straight ahead towards the top of a map. Now, if you want to go even more toward the west while still heading north, you would be going "North By West." It's like saying you're going a little bit to the left while still moving forward.

To make it even clearer, let's imagine you're playing a game of basketball. You start at one end of the court and you want to dribble towards the opponent's basket, but you also want to move a little to the left side of the court. So as you dribble towards the basket, you slightly angle yourself towards the left. That's "North By West" in basketball terms, combining the idea of moving forward (north) and to the left (west).

Now, let's talk about the second definition of "North By West." In traditional navigation, sailors or pilots used a compass to determine their direction. So if you were to fix your compass needle and if you're facing straight north, "North By West" means you're deviating a little to the right, about 11.25 degrees to be precise, towards the west, while still primarily heading north.

In simpler terms, if you're facing straight north and you want to go just a little to the right towards the west direction without fully turning, you would be going "North By West." It's like taking a small detour to the right while still heading mostly north.

So, to sum it all up, "North By West" means heading mostly towards the north direction, but with a slight deviation towards the west. It's like moving forward while also slightly angled to the left or making a small detour to the right while primarily heading north.

Revised and Fact checked by Mary Johnson on 2023-10-29 12:34:29

North By West In a sentece

Learn how to use North By West inside a sentece

  • When you are standing facing directly north, if you turn just a little bit to your right, you will be facing north by west.
  • When sailors on a ship are trying to sail in a direction that is slightly to the right of directly north, they say they are heading north by west.
  • If you imagine a compass rose where north is at the top, and you draw a line that is slightly to the right and upwards from north, that line represents north by west.
  • Pilots use cardinal directions like north, south, east, and west for navigation. When they want to specify a direction that is a little to the right of north, they say it is north by west.
  • If you are driving in a car and want to tell someone the direction you are headed, you can say you are going north by west if you are going slightly to the right of directly north.

North By West Synonyms

Words that can be interchanged for the original word in the same context.

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North By West Hypernyms

Words that are more generic than the original word.