Pennsylvania's latest banned license plate list is a riot
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Pennsylvania, U-FNNY-AF.
Why it matters: Call us vainglorious, but Pennsylvanians are getting more creative with new, crass catchphrases to put on our vanity plates.
The big picture: The state's most recent banned plate list has grown to more than 4,500 entries, up from roughly 2,000 in 2023.
- Entries reflect political machinations, historic and pop cultural events and a taste for the tawdry.
- And it all comes as state lawmakers are considering a proposal requiring drivers to have two license plates on their vehicles.
How it works: Rules, rules, rules. The state has a whole list of them, but basically you can't include sexual innuendo, profanity, scat references (grow up, everyone) or things that'll confuse law enforcement or make you seem like you're a cop.
Axios Philly went line-by-line through the list to better understand what the state deems clever or canceled.
- Here are some of the rejected submissions that caught our eye:
POTUS47, F-ELON, EF ELON: One Pennsylvanian's political tribute is another's insult.
- Bonus irony points if this had ended up on a Tesla.
- The drawback: It's very easy to read it as "FELON."
NOMAMES: A Spanish slang term to express surprise ... and something you mutter under your breath when the PennDOT clerk tells you that you can't put it on your plate.
LFGENZ: OK, boomer!
EDGING: Yep, someone went there. We're edging toward a very, very dark place in Pennsylvania license plate history.
FAFO: Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's go-to catchphrase ended up on T-shirts, but PennDOT was like "FAFO" when someone tried replicating the cringeworthy meme on a plate.
FITFO: Apparently, this stands for "Figure it the f--k out." We just did.
FLUFF-U: It's where you go to get a bachelor of science (BS).
FWAGON: Keep your mind out of the G-utter, folks.
- Clearly, this is a typo — F and G are right next to each other on the keyboard — from someone chest-pounding about their new Mercedes Benz G-Class.
UZAHO: AKA E-ZPass' licentious cousin. Get it, or is that too subtle?
GOVNA: That's Mr. Shapiro to you, bloke.
PENNDOT: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
- Yes, but: No, you still can't.
HAK TUAH, HAKTUAH, HAWK TUA, HAWK TUAH, HAWK 2AA, HAWK 2AH, HAWK 2UH, HAWKTOA, HA2AH: Hailey Welch, aka the Hawk Tuah Girl, has inspired Pennsylvanians to spit out every possible iteration of what the New York Times politely called an "onomatopoeia for the sound Ms. Welch made to simulate a sex act."
NO DIDDY: Pause is in order. Dig a little deeper, and you'll realize Philly rapper Quilly mainstreamed the viral saying during a podcast.
- Then he sought to trademark it. No, HEDIDDY'NT.
H8 KIDS: You and every other pandemic parent.