Tag: perpetrator
Smash-and-grab
WotD: Smash-and-grab Today, with a recent Tokyo incident in mind, we will talk about the term smash-and-grab. You may hear this term in news reports or conversations about crime. Smash-and-grab refers to a type of theft where the perpetrator smashes a window or breaks into a store or car to steal something valuable and then…
Lose track of time
Phrase: Lose track of time There’s a war happening online. It’s a battle for our time. All websites strive to attract us and make us lose track of time so that we will stay there on their site for as long as possible. One minute you’re concentrating on preparing a document for a meeting, then suddenly, you…
Modus operandi
WotD: Modus operandi If you enjoy watching police dramas, you will have heard the actors talking about a perpetrator’s modus operandi. A modus operandi is a repetitive pattern or a person’s particular way of doing things. Actually, it’s more often referred to as a bad guy’s MO. You’ll hear them say serial sex offenders, peeping toms or…
Scratch your head
English Phrase: Scratch your head Every week I have to scratch my head to come up with Idioms and Words of the Day to put in my posts. When I decided to put write about this phrase, Colombo came to mind immediately. The perpetrators in Colombo episodes always thought that he was a bumbling fool.…
Nab
Word of the Day: Nab Usually, it is the police who have to nab the bad guys. When people do bad things, the police need to catch them so that they can go to jail. Well, as you may have already guessed, nab is a verb that means to catch or arrest someone quickly. In…
Tall Story
Word of the Day: Tall Story A tall story is one that’s hard to believe. In our picture for today, we can see that the police have come to arrest a banker. We can imagine that the banker is as cunning as a fox. He’s telling the police a tall story about how he pays…
Incarcerate
Word of the Day: Incarcerate Incarcerate is a word that you will often hear in American police or court dramas. You will also hear it on the news, read it in the newspapers and also whenever you hear people talk about putting perpetrators in jail and prisons. Incarcerate means to put someone in prison, and,…
Perpetrator
WotD: Perpetrator If you read crime reports or watch police dramas, you will hear the word perpetrator. A perpetrator is a criminal or someone who is thought to have committed a crime. If someone steals your purse, you will have to describe the perpetrator to the police so they can look for them. If you’re…
