ABSTRACT
N.A.B.U. See: T.A.B.U. N.B.G. No bloody good: C20. This affords a useful example of that phenomenon whereby, although the full phrase has not achieved the status of c.p., the abbr. has done so. N.C. A fairly common abbr. of no comment. N.C.A.W.W.A.S.B.E. See TOMMY HANDLEY, and ta-ta… N.C.D. See: no can do. N.F.L. See: welcome to the. Naafi-breaks. See: I’ll be laughing. NAAFI suppers. See: I’ve had more. nail(s). See: another nail; chews nails; couldn’t drive; steal; up your tail. name. See: all that the n.; and his n.; any publicity; bullet; I never remember; I’ll forget; if I have the n.; if you can n.; it had my n.; make yer n.; no name; take his n.; that’s the n.; what a ghastly; what is your; what was; when yer n.; who’s that; wire up; you name; and: name of the game-the, implies ‘the precise meaning of which is-’ and ‘not to beat about the bush, the word is-’: orig. US, but not at all gen. before c. 1965; Leechman in late 1968 glossed its Can. usage thus: The name of the game is murder-for instance. Very recent.’ It did not become Brit, until 1973. In American fiction, I have noticed that Stanley Elliot uses it in Stronghold, 1974. In the Daily Telegraph, 7 Aug. 1975, David Holloway, reviewing Edwin Newman’s Strictly Speaking, says, ‘Mr Newman protests properly about the use of “the name of the game”’; and, one day earlier, P.B. had written, ‘I feel that it’s a newish c.p., probably originating in sports journalism. It annoys me because it’s one of the smug and “knowing” ones.’
