There is a video game series called "Grand Theft Auto".
According to its Wikipedia page:
The name of the series references the term used in the US for motor
vehicle theft.[…]
Motor vehicle theft or, grand theft auto, is the criminal act of
stealing or attempting to steal a car (or any other motor vehicle).
I always wondered why this term sounds so strange.
- Shouldn't it be "grand auto theft" or maybe "grand theft of auto" instead?
- Are there any other terms with strange words order and/or missing prepositions like this?
Best Answer
The term is "grand theft" and the category it goes into (based on what is being stolen) is "auto".
What constitutes "grand theft" depends on the states. In California, which is where the games tend to be set, "grand theft" is defined as stealing something valued at over $950.
This is in contrast to "petty theft".
If it helps, imagine that there's a comma or a dash between "theft" and "auto" and that it's an item on a list, not a full phrase.