Word: compassable
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...finding latitude from a meridional observation of the sun . . . was unknown to Columbus." He was unable to use the newly invented astrolabe, and probably had none aboard. The common quadrant was his only instrument of celestial navigation. Mostly he sailed by dead reckoning, "which means simply laying down your compass courses and estimated distances on a chart...
...difficulty of the task, while even a briefer perusal of Levin should demonstrate his success at achieving it. This is not to suggest, however, that the book is not worth a careful reading, for a tightly-written style compresses a multitude of ideas into its relatively small compass. Expansion might make easier comprehension for the layman, but less exciting reading...
Encased in a wheel chair, the egomaniacal, asp-tongued celebrity commandeers the household, forces his hosts to use only the upstairs, runs up a $784 phone bill conversing with all points of the compass, tries to smash his secretary's (Bette Davis) love affair, persuades his hosts' children to run away from home...
...tall, fair and skinny, was 47 years old, had won the D.S.O. for his part in the Bismarck affair. He gave a continuous running commentary of the action against the Bismarck over the public-address system for the benefit of the crew buried below. When a shell hit the compass platform beside him, killing or wounding nearly everyone. Captain Leach, though badly ruptured by the blast, continued his account until the Bismarck sank. He was hospitalized for some time, returned to the Prince of Wales in time for the Roosevelt-Churchill meeting...
Only concession to students' rank: they don't have to do kitchen-police duty or keep their two-man tents in order. But they are drilled solidly in such elementary stuff as rolling a pack, using field glass and compass, managing fire distribution and control...