Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The N’s and O’s

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I couldn’t post this on Friday, so I’m making up for it today. Read on to learn common Trade words that start with the English letters N and O.

• Naff (aco, slang): Dull, mediocre, something a human would like. From British Polari
• Nagoy (valka, slang): Exposed. From Nadsat, derived from nagoi (naked).
• “‘Nai?” (chiroptim, slang): An all-purpose interjection similar to the English “Well?” or “You know?”
• Nana (aco, slang): 1. Evil. 2. Threatening. From British Polari.
• Nanti (aco, slang): 1. No. 2. Not. 3. None. From British Polari.
• Nazz (valka, slang): Fool, idiot, mark. From Nadsat, derived from nazad (backwards).
• “Ne…” (chiroptim, slang): An interjection showing happiness or love, usually for a child or for something childish or cute.

• Nine-Iron (chiroptim, slang): 1. Longarm. 2. A tool, weapon, or solution you use to fix a difficult problem.
• Nishta (aco, slang): Nothing. From British Polari.
• Noch Yassam (chiroptim, term): Literally “our new land”. The name of a stellar system where the chiroptim are trying to establish a new homeland.
• Nochy (valka, slang): Night. From Nadsat, derived from noch (night).
• Noga (valka, slang): Foot. From Nadsat, derived from noga (foot).
• No Kayfabe (Covenant, slang): Be serious. Get real. Stop playing around. See also: kayfabe.
• Nostalgism (general, term): An intellectual and cultural movement amongst humans that views Earth as a prelapsarian paradise, despite all evidence to the contrary. Nostalgism shouldn’t be confused with the general longing that many humans have for their destroyed homeworld. Instead, it holds that Earth is the ideal human world, with politics and culture that were far superior to non-human politics and culture. There’s a strong cargo cultishness associated with nostalgism, with adherents often collecting artifacts from the remnants of Earth and wearing Earth fashions from a variety of periods. The movement is strongly xenophobic and backwards-looking, with regressive and reactionary politics. It’s also rife with conspiracy theories about non-human species – particularly the calerre, who many nostalgists believe destroyed the Earth to enslave humanity and are still trying to corrupt healthy human cultures. Nostalgism is at least partly responsible for the enslavement of the thk’kok on Slice o’Heaven and is the main political movement in the Terran Federation. See also nostalgist.

• Nostalgist (term, general): A person, usually a human, who adheres to nostalgism. See also nostalgism.
• Nozh (valka, slang): Knife. From Nadsat, derived from nozh (knife).
• Nyook (valka, slang): Smell, scent. From Nadsat, derived from nyukat (to smell).
• Ofallit (chiroptim, term): 1. Signature. 2. A vicious knife with wound rippers and other nasty bits to increase bleeding. Often carried by ovalos and bandits so they can carve their “signature” in their victims. See also ovalos.
• Offalvas (chiroptim, term): 1. Anyone who’s so insanely good at flying that he can “write his name on the wind”. 2. Mad skeelz, virtuoso. 3. Doing something spectacularly well or with panache.
• Ogle (aco, slang): Admire, undress with your eyes. From British Polari.
• Ogles (aco, slang): 1. Eyes. 2. Guard, lookout. From British Polari.

• Oglefakes (aco, slang): 1. Eyeglasses. 2. Sensors. From British Polari.
• Okalos (chiroptim, term): Traditional cloak and hood, much like a Muslim abaya but looser, worn by chiroptim women. Women typically tie their long ears behind their head with a lace or velvet ribbon before pulling up the hood. Okalos were part of the tradition of “hiding the ears” back in the Old World. Women would wear okalos, while men would wear hats and long overcoats (shekovok), in order to blend into human society and reduce the chances of being targeted by racial prejudice. Chiroptim in this timeline still hide the ears unless they live in the Covenant, where okalos are considered “traditional garb” and are only really worn by edgy teenagers. See also shekovok.
• Okno (valka, slang): Escape, bolthole. From Nadsat, derived from okno (window).
• Old World, The (chiroptim, slang): What chiroptim call the parallel Earth from which they came.
• Omi (aco, slang): Person. From British Polari.
• Omi-palone (aco, slang): Weirdo. Its original meaning was “homosexual”, but its meaning in the 27th century has expanded to anyone who’s out of place or doesn’t fit in. From British Polari.
• Onk (aco, slang): Nose. From British Polari.

• Oobivat (valka, slang): Kill. From Nadsat, derived from ubivat (to kill).
• Ookadeet (valka, slang): Leave. From Nadsat, derived from ukhodit (to leave).
• Ooko (valka, slang): Ear. From Nadsat, derived from ukho (ear).
• Oomny (valka, slang): Clever. From Nadsat, derived from umniyi (clever).
• Orbs (aco, slang): Eyes. From British Polari.
• Orderly Daughters (aco, slang): Police, whoever enforces the will of the powers-that-be. From British Polari.
• Osoosh (valka, slang): To dry. From Nadsat, derived from osushat (to dry).

• Otchkies (valka, slang): 1. Eyeglasses. 2. Sensors. From Nadsat, derived from ochki (eyeglasses).
• Ovasos (chiroptim, term): 1. Anyone who flies with a first-time flyer, usually a very strong flyer who can snatch a floundering or falling chiroptim out of the air and fly him to safety. 2. Anyone who’s got your back or is trusted. Also yelvasos.
• Ovalos (chiroptim, term): 1. Chiroptim gangs that act as security and defense forces for chiroptim ghettoes. Some ovalos aren’t much more than protection rackets, and all ovalos are involved in some level of criminal activity and racketeering. Ovalos will hire non-chiroptim as soldiers and lieutenants, but their heads are always chiroptim. 2. A member of an ovalos gang.
• Oven (aco, slang): Mouth. From British Polari.
• Ovvekhim (chiroptim, term): 1. Magical circle of protection, usually against vampires and other undead monsters. 2. Secure area.
• Oxygen Thief (spacer, slang): Any who’s useless or worse than useless.
• “Over the fence” (military, slang): Crossing over into another domain’s space or territory, usually through thick and overlapping sensor pickets. This is almost always an act of war and must be done covertly.

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See Also:

• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The A’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The B’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The C’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The D’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The E’s through G’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The H’s and I’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The J’s and K’s
• Vocabulary of the Orion Arm: The L’s and M’s

Note: Some of these terms are original, but the rest are gathered from numerous sources. This is only a partial list of these sources.

• Santa Barbara Jewish Connection: The First Words You Learn
• Military.com: Glossary of Military Terms & Slang
• Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War
• Hobo Terminology
• In the 70s
• 60s Slang
• 1940s Slang: Hepcats and All That Jive
• 1930s Slang
• Sage Dragonfly – 1930’s Sayings/Slang
• Dirty 30s! – Slang of the 30s
• 1920’s & 1930’s Slang
• Life of Boris
• Molls and Dolls: 1920 Slang Dictionary
• Soomka.com – Nadsat Dictionary (reprinted from the novel
  “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess
• Wikipedia: Polari
• Wikipedia: Yiddish Words Used in English