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N

   "There were N bugs in that crock!"  Also used in its
   original sense of a variable name: "This crock has N bugs,
   as N goes to infinity."  (The true number of bugs is always
   at least N + 1; see Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic
   Entomology.)  2. A variable whose value is inherited from the
   current context.  For example, when a meal is being ordered at a
   restaurant, N may be understood to mean however many people
   there are at the table.  From the remark "We'd like to order
   N wonton soups and a family dinner for N - 1" you
   can deduce that one person at the table wants to eat only soup,
   even though you don't know how many people there are (see
   great-wall).  3. `Nth': adj. The ordinal counterpart
   of N, senses 1 and 2.  "Now for the Nth and last
   time..." In the specific context "Nth-year grad
   student", N is generally assumed to be at least 4, and is
   usually 5 or more (see tenured graduate student).  See also
   random numbers, two-to-the-N.