955
North/South divide, the
South Circular form a circle-shaped road around London.
This road is much closer to the city than the M25 MOTORWAY,
which goes around the outside of London. The North Circular
is known for having very bad TRAFFIC JAMS.
**North-cliffe, Lord** /'nɔːθklɪf||'nɔːrθ-/ (1865–1922) a British
newspaper owner, born in Ireland, who started *The Daily
Mail* in 1896 and *The Daily Mirror* in 1903, and in this way
helped to make newspapers much more popular with ordinary
people in the UK. He also later became the owner of
*The Times*, and he had a great influence on the British
newspaper business.
**North Da-ko-ta** /ˌnɔːθ də'kəʊtə‖ˌnɔːrθ-/ *written abbrev.* **ND** a
state in the northern central US, on the border with Canada,
with a small population, good farmland, and mineral mines
**north-east** /ˌnɔːθ'ist‖ˌnːrθ-/ *written abbrev.* **NE** **1** *n* the
direction that is exactly between north and east: *The wind's
in (=is coming from) the northeast.* **2** the northeastern part
of a country
**Northeast, the** **1** the northeastern part of the US, includ-
ing the six states in New England, and the states of New
York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania **2** the northeastern part
of England, which includes the industrial areas of Tyneside
(around Newcastle) and Teesside (around Middlesbrough) ➔
see also NORTH
**Northeast 'Corridor, the** an area of the northeastern US,
between Boston and Washington D.C., which has the highest
population DENSITY in the country
**north-east-er** /ˌnɔːθ'iːstər‖ˌnɔːrθ-/ *n* a strong wind or
storm coming from the northeast
**north-east-er-ly** /ˌnɔːθ'iːstəli‖nɔːrθ'iːstərli/ *adj* **1** towards
or in the northeast: *Rain will spread to northeasterly regions
during the day.* **2** (of a wind) coming from the northeast
**north-east-ern** /ˌnɔːθ'iːstən‖ˌnɔːrθ'iːstərn/ *written abbrev.*
**NE** *adj* (often *cap.*) of the northeast part, especially of a country
**Northeast 'Passage, the** a way by sea between the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, going along the northern coasts
of Europe and Asia. It was discovered by the Swedish
EXPLORER Nils Nordenskjöld in 1878–79 ➔ compare NORTH-
WEST PASSAGE
**north-east-ward** /ˌnɔːθ'istwəd‖nɔːrθ'iːstwərd/ *adj* going
towards the northeast: *in a northeastward direction*
—**northeastwards, northeastward** *adv*: *sailing northeast-
wards*
**nor-ther-ly** /'nɔːðəli||'nɔːrðərli/ *adj* **1** towards or in the
north: *We set off in a northerly direction.* **2** (of a wind)
coming from the north: *strong northerly winds*
**nor-thern** /'nɔːðən||'nɔːrðərn/ *written abbrev.* **N** *adj* (often *cap.*) of
or belonging to the north part of the world or of a country:
*In the northern hemisphere, spring is in March and April.* | *a
Northern accent* ➔ see NORTH² (USAGE)
**nor-thern-er** /'nɔːðənər ||'nɔːrðər-/ *n* (also *cap.*) a person who
lives in or comes from the northern part of a country
**Northern 'Ireland** the northern part of the island of Ire-
land, which is politically part of the United Kingdom. It is
also known as Ulster, and it is sometimes called the Province.
Its capital city is Belfast, and its main industries are farming
and engineering, especially ship and aircraft building. The
population of Northern Ireland is divided mainly between the
Protestants (over 50%) and the Roman Catholics (almost
40%). In general, the Protestants want Northern Ireland to
remain part of the UK, and they are called Unionists or
Loyalists, and the Catholics want Northern Ireland to become
part of the Republic of Ireland, and are called Republicans or
Nationalists. The disagreements between these groups have
led to a lot of violence. PARAMILITARY groups (=unofficial
illegal armies) who claim to represent each side, especially
the Republican IRA and the Loyalist UDA, have used vio-
lence against each other and against ordinary people for
many years, and since the late 1960s British soldiers have
been based in Northern Ireland to control the situation.
There have been many unsuccessful attempts to find a
peaceful solution to these political problems. Since 1998
talks have been taking place between the British govern-
ment and all the main political parties in Northern Ireland,
including those that represent paramilitary groups. The
British government established a new ASSEMBLY (=parlia-
ment) for Northern Ireland in 1998 as a result of the Belfast
Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement), but
the Assembly has been SUSPENDED several times because the
different political groups keep disagreeing about the process
of DECOMMISSIONing weapons (=getting rid of them). ➔ see
also SINN FEIN, STORMONT, IRA
**Northern Ireland 'Assembly, The** a parliament that
was opened in Northern Ireland as a result of the Good
Friday Agreement in 1998. It was closed in April 2003
because David Trimble, the leader of the Ulster Unionist
Party, did not believe that the IRA's plans to destroy their
weapons were honest. His party, which wants Northern
Ireland to stay as part of the UK, then refused to share power
with Sinn Fein, a party which wants Northern Ireland to
become part of the Republic of Ireland, and which is
considered to be the political branch of the IRA.
**Northern 'Lights, the** *n* [P] bands of coloured light that
are seen in the night sky in the most northern parts of the
world; AURORA BOREALIS
**nor-thern-most** /'nɔːðənmaʊst||'nɔːrðərn-/ *adj* furthest
north: *the northernmost parts of Norway*
**Northern 'Territory, the** an area of northern central
Australia whose main city is Darwin. It is an extremely large
area, but most of it is very dry and its population is very
small. ➔ see picture at AUSTRALIA
**'North Island, the** one of the two main islands of New
Zealand, which includes Wellington, New Zealand's capital
city ➔ see also SOUTH ISLAND, THE and see picture at NEW
ZEALAND
**North Ko'rea** a country in East Asia, west of Japan and east
of China, which is officially called the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea. Population: 22,466,481 (2003). Capital:
Pyongyang. North Korea was formed in 1945 when Korea was
divided into two countries (North Korea and South Korea) by
the US and the former Soviet Union. North Korean soldiers
entered South Korea in 1950 in an attempt to unite the two
countries, and this started the Korean War (1950–53). North
Korea has a Communist system of government, and its leader
is Kim Jong Il. ➔ see also SOUTH KOREA —**North Korean** *n,
adj*
**north of Wat·ford** /ˌnɔːθ əv 'wɒtfəd‖ˌnɔːrθ əv 'wɑːtfərd/
*adv* often *humorous* the northern part of Britain, especially in its
distance from London: *I don't know where that town is, it's
north of Watford somewhere.*
**North 'Pole, the** the most northern point on the surface of
the Earth, or the area around it which is made of floating ice
➔ see also MAGNETIC POLE, SOUTH POLE; see picture at
GLOBE
**North 'Sea, the** part of the Atlantic Ocean, between Great
Britain and northwest Europe. It is economically important
because of its fish, and also for oil and gas which were
discovered there in the 1970s.
**North Sea 'gas** *n* [U] gas from under the North Sea. North
Sea gas was discovered in the 1960s, and most of the gas
used in British homes and businesses comes from the North
Sea.
**North Sea 'oil** *n* [U] PETROLEUM (=oil from which petro-
leum is made) from under the North Sea. North Sea oil was
discovered in the 1960s, and both the UK and Norway have
made a lot of money by selling it.
**North/South di·vide, the** **1** the difference between the
rich and poor countries of the world, which is shown by
people's standard of living and by the level of industrial and
economic development. The expression the North is used to
mean the richer countries which are mainly in Europe,
North America, and parts of East Asia, and the South is used
to mean the poorer countries of Africa, Asia, and Central
and South America: *Latest statistics suggest the North/South
divide is becoming even more pronounced.* **2** the difference
between the northern and southern parts of a country,
shown for example in the amount of money people have,
the quality of their health, or their general attitudes and
way of life: *The 1980s property boom in and around London
helped to create a North/South divide in the cost of housing.* ➔
see also NORTH, SOUTH
**CULTURAL NOTE** In the UK, the North/South divide means
the difference between southern England, especially
London and SE England, and northern England and