Page:A Desk-Book of Errors in English.djvu/164

no none the other happening at night. A man has nightly sleep in which he suffers from nocturnal dreams.

no: According to critics no never properly qualifies a verb, that is, it should never be substituted for "not." But the practise has literary sanction.

no: Often used for "any" by the illiterate. Do not say "We didn't see no flats"; say, rather, "We did not see any flats."

nobby: A vulgar synonym for "having an elegant or flashy appearance; showy; stylish": haberdasher's cant. Compare.

nohow: A vulgarism for "in no way" or "by no means." If after a negative, say "in any way," "by any means," "at all." "I don't believe in them nohow should be "I don't believe in them in the least, or "at all."

nominate: Distinguish from "denominate," which is now only an obsolete sense of the word. To nominate is to designate or specify; as, "Is it so nominated in the bond?" whereas to "denominate" is to give a name or epithet to. Washington was nominated president, but was denominated "Father of his country."

nominatives: The coupling of singular and plural. What number, singular or plural, shall the verb take. It couples two sentences—one on either side—the one having a singular nominative and the other a plural. As to which sentence shall be first and which second, there is commonly but little compulsion: it is a 148