# What is offensive about this Vanity license plate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 2, 2021, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542 "2021-07-02T22:17:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/61 "2021-07-27T23:20:37Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > BO20CK - Bollock, ie testicle I’m missing this. How is “2” supposed to be “LL.” I feel like I’m missing something obvious. ETA: Oh, the 20 is to be ignored. So BO OCK, and the LL is implied, then? ETA2: OK, seeing some of the other ones upthread, I guess that is it. In that case, NO20 JOB (NO JOB) kind of makes some sense, not so much as being banned for being offensive, but rather a bit embarrassing. And NO20 ARM could be a bit embarrassing if it were assigned to a one-armed driver. That’s all I got, though. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/62 "2021-07-27T23:25:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m missing this. How is “2” supposed to be “LL.” I feel like I’m missing something obvious. > > ETA: Oh, the 20 is to be ignored. So BO OCK, and the LL is implied, then? > > ETA2: OK, seeing some of the other ones upthread, I guess that is it. The 2 can look like an L with a serif. Not double l, but enough that it reads as bollock. It’s probably more obvious if it’s an everyday word for you. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/63 "2021-07-27T23:29:35Z")
I’m certainly familiar with bollocks, usually in the plural. (“Never mind the bollocks!” Plus I spent a good amount of time --many years – with British expats and several months living in the UK.) ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/64 "2021-07-27T23:34:44Z")
Sure, but if you were still using it or hearing it a few times a week (in the plural, anyway) you probably would have spotted that licence plate really easily. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/65 "2021-07-27T23:38:06Z")
Well, I didn’t see it until a few minutes ago, so gimme a moment! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/66 "2021-07-27T23:50:24Z")
TBF, I only saw it on here too 😃 Still baffled about the other two. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/67 "2021-07-28T07:10:42Z")
Whenever we start talking about vanity license plates, I have to wonder how far, and through how many languages, the profanity check goes. I used to live in a neighbourhood with a lot of Russians and Albanians, and occasionally I’d see a car with a license plate full of apparent garble. It wasn’t garble though; it was Cyrillic text approximated in Roman characters and filtered through slang abbreviations. (There’s a word for that, but I don’t know what it is.) I have no idea what it might have said. ETA: informal transliteration of Cyrillic: > **[Informal romanizations of Cyrillic](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informal_romanizations_of_Cyrillic)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Informal or ad hoc romanizations of Cyrillic have been in use since the early days of electronic communications, starting from early e-mail and bulletin board systems. Their use faded with the advances in the Russian internet that made support of Cyrillic script standard, but resurfaced with the proliferation of instant messaging, SMS and mobile phone messaging in Russia. > Due to its informal character, there was neither a well-established standar... A lot weirder than I expected. Presumably they check for objectionable content in commonly-spoken languages in the city, like Tagalog, Chinese, and French, but what if I could swear like a Cornish fishwife in Anishinaabemowin or Tibetan or Tok Pisin and wanted to deck my car out to suit? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/68 "2021-07-28T17:46:30Z")
A side note regarding front plates. New Mexico does not require them, or at least they didn’t when I lived in Albuquerque 30 years ago. A friend there who used to live in Colorado had an old VW bus. On the rear he had his required New Mexico plate, but on the front was his old Colorado plate. I asked him if he couldn’t get pulled over for that, and he said the cops could only see one end at a time. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/69 "2021-07-28T17:49:18Z")
To get cited for it, there would have to be a law on the books against it. I wonder if that’s the case. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/70 "2021-07-28T17:58:16Z")
In places where a front plate isn’t required, it’s common to see novelty front plates. Sometimes they resemble a real plate from that state or another one, sometimes they’re whimsical non-existent plates, such as from a fictional place, and sometimes they’re basically bumper stickers, advertising a college or the like. I think that such jurisdictions just mostly don’t care at all what’s on the front bumper. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/71 "2021-07-28T18:01:11Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > On the rear he had his required New Mexico plate, but on the front was his old Colorado plate. I asked him if he couldn’t get pulled over for that, and he said the cops could only see one end at a time. Heh. Someone in my neighborhood has a Subaru Crosstrek which he’s customized for off roading, with a lift kit, bit off road tires, and a similarly big rear mounted spare tire. Since the spare tire covers the normal spot for the license plate, he’s got an aftermarket license plate frame elsewhere that holds the real license plate. Then in the stock license plate holder he’s got a 49ers novelty plate, or something like that. From the right angel, you can still see both plates. I guess it’s ok since he’s got the real plate displayed, but it’s a little off seeing two plates on a vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/72 "2021-07-28T18:02:52Z")
A novelty plate on the front is one thing, but an actual plate from another state strikes me as questionable, at least legally. I was not offended by my friend, I thought the Colorado plate was cool, but I don’t think I would test that myself. And now that I think of it, the Colorado plate must have been expired, so a cop noticing only the front end might have pulled him over just for that, not realizing it was a New Mexico-registered vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Tigrman699](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Tigrman699](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tigrman699)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/73 "2023-12-07T06:36:58Z")
So we all agree that it was the “69” and not the “PWNDU” that the Tenn DMV judged offensive? I have spent time (I will never get back) trying to determine the relationship or connection of the latter to the former. In Florida, I had the DMV revoke my vanity plate “XTAZY”.which I placed on the back of my Nissan 300ZX, as promoting the use of an illegal substance. They were wrong about my intention and its meaning but I understood why they revoked it after considering their position. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/74 "2023-12-07T07:26:18Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > A lot of the banned plates were incredibly innocuous, or maybe I am just not getting the dirty jokes involved. Rejected plates included: > … > HEYJUDE I think I can explain that one. There have been cases where German-speaking Jews who don’t know Beatles music have seen the name of the song, and thought it was a Nazi slogan. > **[Paul McCartney: 'Hey Jude' isn't about the Jews](https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/paul-mccartney-hey-jude-isnt-about-the-jews-567110)** > > The Beatles singer said the song's name made some people angry when it was released. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/75 "2023-12-07T08:16:02Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I sometimes see a large SUV around here with the vanity plate “GLB WRMR” or something like that. I assume that’s supposed to be read as “globe warmer”, and is meant to convey the message “My SUV is contributing to climate change, and I don’t care! In your face, environmentalists!” Ironically, it’s on the California [whale tail](https://www.coastal.ca.gov/whaletailplate/) specialty plate, so the money he’s paying for the plate is actually going towards environmental causes, albeit protecting marine life and cleaning up beaches, not anything climate change related. Perhaps he’s an environmentalist whose wife insisted that they get a SUV; this licence plate is his passive-aggressive way of getting back at her. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/76 "2023-12-07T10:30:46Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I think I can explain that one. There have been cases where German-speaking Jews who don’t know Beatles music have seen the name of the song, and thought it was a Nazi slogan. > > [Paul McCartney: 'Hey Jude' isn't about the Jews - The Jerusalem Post](https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/paul-mccartney-hey-jude-isnt-about-the-jews-567110) If that’s a Nazi slogan, than Jude Law has a lot to answer for. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/77 "2023-12-07T13:05:09Z")
> [@Tigrman699](#): > > They were wrong about my intention and its meaning Just curious - what was your intention and its meaning? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/78 "2023-12-07T13:13:00Z")
It’s funny, because I didn’t even think of the drug when I saw that plate. It’s not that I’m innocent, just perhaps out of touch and I’m more used to hearing it called “molly” and back in the 90s, just “E” or “X,” at least around my crowd. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/79 "2023-12-07T13:16:20Z")
It’s probably as simple as experiencing some 300ZX-TAZY ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542/80 "2023-12-07T14:52:17Z")
Fascinating (and horrific), thank you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-offensive-about-this-vanity-license-plate/945542.md?page=5)