modus operandi
modus operandi (moh-d[schwa]s op-[schwa]-ran-dIor -dee). [Latin “a manner of operating”] A method of operating or a manner of procedure; esp. a pattern of criminal behavior so distinctive that investigators attribute it to the work of the same person (staging a fight at the train station was part of the pickpocket’s modus operandi). — Abbr. M.O. Pl. modi operandi.
