Bryson•s Dictionary for Writers and Editors

Modigliani, Amedeo / mongooses � 229
Modigliani, Amedeo. (1884–1920) Italian artist.
modus operandi. (Lat.) The way of doing something.
modus vivendi. (Lat.) Way of life, or a kind of truce pending the set -
tlement of a dispute.
Mogadishu. Capital of Somalia.
Mohave, Mojave. The first is the spelling for the Native American
tribe and mountains in Arizona; the second is the spelling of
the desert.
Mohorovi čić discontinuity. Boundary between Earth’s crust and mantle,
named for the Croatian geophysicist Andrija Mohorovi čić
(1857–1936).
Mojave Desert, but Mohave for the Native American tribe and mountains
in Arizona.
Moldova. Not Moldavia. Eastern European republic, formerly called
Bessarabia, formerly part of Soviet Union; capital Chi¸sinău. The
people and language are Moldovan.
Molière. (1622–1673) French playwright; born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin.
mollycoddle.
Molly Maguires. Secret society active in Pennsylvania in nineteenth
century.
molt. Not moult.
molybdenum. Chemical element; symbol Mo.
Mombasa. Seaport and resort in Kenya.
Mona Lisa. Painting by Leonardo da Vinci, also called La Gioconda.
Mönchen-Gladbach, Germany.
Mondrian, Piet. (1872–1944) Dutch abstract painter; born Pieter Cornelis
Mondriaan.
Monégasque for a person or thing from Monaco. Not Mona-.
moneyed, not monied, for someone with wealth.
mongooses is the plural of mongoose. (The word is of Indian origin
and has no relation to the English goose.)