Boxing the compass

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A modern compass card.

Boxing the compass is the action of naming all thirty-two principal points of the compass in clockwise order. Such names, formed by the initials of the cardinal directions and their intermediate ordinal directions, are accepted internationally, even though they have their origin in the English language, and are very handy to refer to a heading (or a course) in a general or colloquial fashion, without having to resort to computing or recalling angle numbers.

[edit] Compass points

#	Compass point	Abbr.	Traditional wind point	True heading
1	North	N	Tramontana	0.00°
2	North by east	NbE		11.25°
3	North-northeast	NNE		22.50°
4	Northeast by north	NEbN		33.75°
5	Northeast	NE	Greco Bora	45.00°
6	Northeast by east	NEbE		56.25°
7	East-northeast	ENE		67.50°
8	East by north	EbN		78.75°
9	East	E	Levante	90.00°
10	East by south	EbS		101.25°
11	East-southeast	ESE		112.50°
12	Southeast by east	SEbE		123.75°
13	Southeast	SE	Sirocco	135.00°
14	Southeast by south	SEbS		146.25°
15	South-southeast	SSE		157.50°
16	South by east	SbE		168.75°
17	South	S	Ostro	180.00°
18	South by west	SbW		191.25°
19	South-southwest	SSW		202.50°
20	Southwest by south	SWbS		213.75°
21	Southwest	SW	Libeccio	225.00°
22	Southwest by west	SWbW		236.25°
23	West-southwest	WSW		247.50°
24	West by south	WbS		258.75°
25	West	W	Ponente	270.00°
26	West by north	WbN		281.25°
27	West-northwest	WNW		292.50°
28	Northwest by west	NWbW		303.75°
29	Northwest	NW	Maestro	315.00°
30	Northwest by north	NWbN		326.25°
31	North-northwest	NNW		337.50°
32	North by west	NbW		348.75°