O tempora! O mores!

[ oh tem-poh-rah oh moh-reys; English oh tem-per-uh oh mawr-eez, mohr- ]

Latin.

1. O times! O customs!

O tempora! O mores!

/ əʊ ˈtɛmpɔːrɑː əʊ ˈmɔːreɪz /

sentence substitute

1. oh the times! oh the customs!: an exclamation at the evil of them

Word History and Origins

Origin of O tempora! O mores!¹

from Cicero's oration In Catilinam

Example Sentences

“O tempora o mores”? Weltanschauung?

From New York Times

Mr. Millstein wrote that the jazz policy was “the newest case of O Tempora O Mores, an affliction producing glass office buildings on Park Avenue and frozen blintzes in grocery stores.”

From New York Times

One, being in haste, did skewer his tongue to his palate with it I hear; O tempora, O mores!

From Project Gutenberg

O tempora, o mores--there you are!

From Project Gutenberg

But as Cicero knew a politician can't go wrong exclaiming, "O tempora, O mores!" – decrying modern times and declaring that things were better in the past.

From The Guardian