Murder on the Orient Express - question on meaning of an abbreviation

MatthewHawnMatthewHawn Iowa, United States
in All Poirot novels
I kept forgetting to search for the answer to this and then I couldn't find it when I remembered, so I thought I'd come here.  In Murder on the Orient Express, Poirot has made notes as to the passengers' evidence.  Following one of the lines, is the abbreviation "N.B." - the context isn't spoilerish, so here it is:

about 9.40 Valet leaves XXXXXXXXX with sleeping draught beside him.
about 10.00 XXXXXXX leaves XXXXXXXXX.
about 10.40  XXXXXXX sees XXXXXXXX (last seen alive). N.B. He was awake reading a book

For the life of me, I CANNOT figure out what N.B. is supposed to mean.  Perhaps I'm daft?  Thanks for anyone who can enlighten me!

Comments

  • anne.clough.3anne.clough.3

    I looked up my dictionary and under abbreviations it says;

    "NB (Latin nota bene) - take special note of."

    I guess Poirot wants to make a special note of the fact the victim was last seen alive at 10 40 reading a book.

  • Tommy_A_JonesTommy_A_Jones Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
    That sounds right, I do Logic Problems and sometimes at the Blurb at the top it says something like N.B. Newhaven and Peacehaven are in Sussex and Bramdean and Nether Wollap are in Hampshire meaning the solver have to make a note of it when solving the Puzzle, I hope this helps.
  • shanashana Paramaribo, Suriname
    Yes, the letters N.B. in this case don't stand for initials. Matthew must have cracked his brain really hard on this one. :-O 8-}
  • Lucy G LemonLucy G Lemon

    Matthew - I think Agatha Christie would have loved your query! It is wonderful that you thought it may have been a clue, rather than a Latin abbreviation commonly used in legal papers.  I commonly use NB in everyday messages and take for granted that everybody knows what NB means|!  I recently used it in a message to a friend:  Are you coming to see The Crucible this Wed night? NB Performance starts at 8 sharp not 7.30pm as in school newsletter. 

    I have also cut and pasted from Wikipedia:

    Nota bene (/ˈnoʊtɑːˈbɛnɛ/; plural form notate bene) is an Italian and Latin phrase meaning "note well".[1] The phrase first appeared in writing circa 1721.[2]

    Often abbreviated as "N.B.", "N.b." or "n.b.", nota bene comes from the Latin roots notāre ("to note") and bene ("well").[1]  In present-day English, it is used, particularly in legal papers,[3] to draw the attention of the reader to a certain (side) aspect or detail of the subject on hand, translating it as "pay attention" or "take notice". While "N.B." is often used in academic writing, "note" is a common substitute.

    Others have probably explained it better than me, but hope this clears it up for you.

    Again, I love that you thought it might be part of a clue :) 


  • Tommy_A_JonesTommy_A_Jones Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
    I never use N. B. It irritates me.
  • MatthewHawnMatthewHawn Iowa, United States
    Thank you ALL! I feel like such a moron! It never occurred to me to Google it.  Even then, I might have questioned it as I thought it had something to do with the case.  I've re-read that book about 20 times.  And every time it drove me nuts!
     
  • Lucy G LemonLucy G Lemon
    Don't feel like a moron Matthew - you are thinking laterally if you thought it was a clue!

    I love using NB (but I never use the fullstops) - it says so much with so little.
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