# Q on directions: N-NE vs. E-NE? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137 "2005-07-05T13:31:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/1 "2005-07-05T13:31:21Z")
What is the technical meaning of N-NE vs. E-NE? What is the difference? If North assumed to be 0 degrees, and E is 90 degrees…then NE = 45 degrees. So, I WAG N-NE means \> 0 and \< 22.25 whereas E-NE would be \> 22.25 and \< 45 degrees? Is this correct? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/2 "2005-07-05T13:40:06Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > What is the technical meaning of N-NE vs. E-NE? What is the difference? If North assumed to be 0 degrees, and E is 90 degrees…then NE = 45 degrees. So, I WAG > N-NE means \> 0 and \< 22.25 whereas E-NE would be \> 22.25 and \< 45 degrees? > > Is this correct? > > - Jinx No, that’s not right, because E-NE (east-northeast) would have to be more than 45 degrees. I would tend to say… N-NE: 11.25 - 33.75 E-NE: 56.25 - 78.75 This is based on dividing the compass up into 16 equal sections, which would be, in order clockwise from north North North-northeast Northeast East-Northeast East East-Southeast Southeast South-Southeast South South-Southwest Southwest West-Southwest West West-Northwest Northwest North-Northwest Hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/3 "2005-07-05T13:40:29Z")
N = 0 degrees NNE = 22.5 degrees NE = 45 degrees ENE = 67.5 degrees E = 90 degrees [ENE and NNE are specific directions, not a range.](http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/articles/degrees_on_a_compass.htm) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/4 "2005-07-05T13:40:56Z")
NNE means the \*north \* side of northeast, ENE means the \*east \* side of northeast. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/5 "2005-07-05T13:54:47Z")
Wikipedia on [Boxing the Compass](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_the_compass). Here is a decent site on [the history of and using a compass](http://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/area/maths/compass/html/compassbearings/cocom.html). The use of degrees is fairly recent and prior to that time, mariners used descriptive words to identify direction. Given the problems of tacking, wind drift, and other issues (such as illiteracy), compasses were not made to such exacting standards as to allow 360° display and the 32 points of the “boxed” compass were the units used to identify direction. (I have heard directions given as “North Northeast, a quarter East” (which would give 25.3125°), but I do not know how regular such usage would have been. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/6 "2005-07-05T18:09:23Z")
As tomndebb’s link says, if North is 0° and East is 90°, then Northeast is 45°. Halfway between North and Northeast, at 22,5°, is North-Northeast, and halfway between Northeast and East, at 67.5°, is East-Northeast. Halfway between North and North-Northeast, at 11.25°, is “North by East” (because it’s North with a bit to the East). Halfway between North-Northeast and Northeast, at 33.75°, is “Northeast by North” (because it’s Northeast with a bit to the North). Halfway between Northeast and Eath-Northeast, at 56.25°, is “Northeast by East,” because it’s Northeast with a bit to the East, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/7 "2005-07-05T23:51:45Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > NNE means the \*north \* side of northeast, ENE means the \*east \* side of northeast. This is a fairly good way of putting it. Consider that Northeast is the direction halfway between North and East. Then North-northeast is the direction halfway between North and Northeast; East-northeast is the direction halfway between Northeast and East; and so on. So on the 360-degree clockwise mode of stating directions, North is 0° and East 90°. Northeast is 45° and Southeast 135°. North-northeast is 22.5° and East-northeast is 67.5°. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/8 "2005-07-06T16:54:20Z")
_Now_ I understand why car compasses don’t include these off directions: not enough of you understand them to make it worth the effort. It irritates me to see my mirror indicating NE when I know for a fact it’s more NNE. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/9 "2005-07-06T17:01:24Z")
Eh. I live in a part of the country where the distinction between N and E is too subtle ---
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/10 "2005-07-06T17:12:29Z")
So Alfred Hitchcock was way off the mark - there is no such thing as North by Northwest!! Or was there some subtle implication meant by this choice of words? ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/11 "2005-07-06T17:32:13Z")
They flew Northwest Airlines ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/12 "2005-07-06T20:03:28Z")
North by Northwest is another way of saying North-Northwest. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/13 "2005-07-06T20:56:05Z")
> [@flight](#): > > North by Northwest is another way of saying North-Northwest. Is it? That would ruin the self-consistent methodology of compass-point naming given in the [Boxing the Compass](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_the_compass) link given by **tomndebb** above. > [@RM Mentock](#): > > They flew Northwest Airlines But they didn’t fly _North_ via Northwest Airlines. I have on occasion thought that the movie’s name was a reference to _Hamlet_’s line: > [@](#): > > I am but mad north-northwest since there are some (tenuous, perhaps) plot parallels between the two works. [Here](http://www.uchicago.edu/research/jnl-crit-inq/issues/v7/v7n4.cavell.html) is an excerpt from a guy who seems to think that there are shoutouts to _Hamlet_ all over _NxNW_, but he may be taking things a little far… ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/14 "2005-07-06T21:52:45Z")
> [@Antonius Block](#): > > Is it? That would ruin the self-consistent methodology of compass-point naming given in the [Boxing the Compass](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_the_compass) link given by **tomndebb** above. 😕 Look at 31 in the link 31. North-northwest NNW 337 .50° ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/15 "2005-07-06T21:59:51Z")
oopse, sorry, see that by has a special meaning in the boxed compass. I guess that when the boxed compass weant out of use the by lost it’s meaning. I see the Hamlet quote is “I am but mad North-NorthWest” which is correct terminology using boxed compass. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/16 "2005-07-06T22:12:17Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > 😕 > Look at 31 in the link > 31. North-northwest NNW 337 .50° What I meant is that **flight** ’s simple assertion that: > [@flight](#): > > North by Northwest is another way of saying North-Northwest would suggest that the word “ **by** ” is interchangeable with concatenation. **tomndebb** ’s link shows, however, that (for example) “South by West” and “Southwest” are not at all the same, which would tend to refute **flight** ’s claim. I was asking **flight** for some confirmation of his assertion, without going _quite_ so far as to call **“Cite?”**. [and, on preview, I see that you’ve already “oopse’d” your previous comment, but I’ll post this anyway!] ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-on-directions-n-ne-vs-e-ne/311137/17 "2005-07-07T15:44:56Z")
> [@Antonius Block](#): > > What I meant is that **flight** ’s simple assertion that: would suggest that the word “ **by** ” is interchangeable with concatenation. > > **tomndebb** ’s link shows, however, that (for example) “South by West” and “Southwest” are not at all the same, which would tend to refute **flight** ’s claim. I was asking **flight** for some confirmation of his assertion, without going _quite_ so far as to call **“Cite?”**. > > [and, on preview, I see that you’ve already “oopse’d” your previous comment, but I’ll post this anyway!] A bit of a search finds that it is in common use, particularly for orienteering. See [here](http://www.posc.org/Epicentre.2_2/DataModel/LogicalDictionary/StandardValues/ref_compass_point.html) and [here](http://threerings.net/code/narya/narya/docs/api/com/threerings/util/DirectionCodes.html). It seems like some people also use it to mean “the eihgth of the compass between those two directions,” though. As the word “by” is not ever used between, say, west and northwest in your scheme I do not see a point for confusion, unless you mean to say that “by” specifically means 11.25 degrees.