Every now and then I just love to throw in a word or two to add panache to my sentences. I knew you’d love to do that too. That’s why I have three words I know you’d love to play with.

M.O.

If you watch detective movies or TV series you’d often hear “what’s his M.O.?” M.O. stands for Modus Operandi, a Latin phrase which translates into method or mode of operation in English. Your method of operation is simply the way in which you usually work, function or operate. It is how you do a specific thing in a specific way.  If I ask you how you wash your clothes you might say something like this: I dump all my dirty clothes on the floor. Next, I sort all the whites, blacks, and mixed colours into three separate piles. Then, I proceed to wash them in that order. This is your M.O. Some examples:

–          He gets on well with his team because they understand his M.O.

–          What’s your modus operandi for setting up a tent?

–          One of Sherlock Holmes’ victims earned a lot of money by begging on the streets disguised in wretched clothes. That was his M.O.

Mélange

You can spice your English up with a touch of French. Mélange is originally a French word used in English to mean mixture, combination, concoction, or blend. It is written with or without the “accent” on the “e”, but the pronunciation stays true to the French. Use mélange, instead of mixture in your sentence:

–          This salad is a mélange of romaine lettuce, dried cranberries, cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber and toasted pecans.

–          The child’s birthday cake had a mélange of blue, white and green colours.

–           The vibrant city has a mélange of architectural works of art.

Über

Über is a German preposition meaning above, over or across. It is used informally in English to mean too, over, or very. Über is usually hyphenated in writing. When using orally, know how to say it correctly first. How to play with über? Make your own sentences from those below:

–          If you don’t believe something you can say it is über-perfect to be true.

–          If someone is too good or at the top of his/her game, that person is probably über-talented. He/she could be an über-hacker or über-manager.

–          Einstein’s relativity theory is probably über-complicated to understand.

–          You don’t enjoy your meal because it is über-spicy or über-sweet.

–          The Thorn Birds may be über-romantic for your liking.

If you had fun with these, spread the word and come back here for more, any time.