Latin 3 Everyday: Modus Operandi

The legal term “Modus Operandi” means Method of Operation, but can also be translated as “Mode of Working”. In legal terms, it can be used to label crimes that have a similar pattern. “Mode of Working” means how a person committed a crime, and is also used in court cases. For example, if someone robbed a bank using a NERF™ Gun, the NERF™ Gun would be their M.O.* because they used the gun to commit the crime. There are examples of the term as far back as the 1650s. Though it is similar to the word motive, having a classification for an M.O. is super important. M.O’s play a huge part in court cases and sentencing. There is a reason why it’s still around today. Personally, I think that “Modus Operandi” is better than saying the English equivalent. This is because humans are inherently lazy, and saying “This person committed the crime by…” is much harder than saying “Their M.O. is…”. Besides laziness, I also think that implementing latin words into your speech makes you sound smarter. By saying “M.O.”, you can live out your T.V. Law and Order(dun dun) dreams.