Story Archive

Oh, Quat On

“In this day and time, things mean a lot of different things,” says Sherry Lee, who works for the North Carolina Department of Transportation. “Some people see ‘CEX,’ which is part of a standard-issue [auto license] plate, and issue a complaint.” In this case, the complaint was about Lori Ann Phillips’s custom plate: KUMQUAT. Lee sent Phillips a letter giving her 30 days to explain her plate — or she’d lose it. Phillips complained on Facebook and thought about sending the bureaucrats some kumquats, a small citrus fruit. But once her friend at a local newspaper saw her post and wrote a story, DOT made a formal response unnecessary. It left Lee a voicemail and tweeted: “#NCDMV verified a kumquat is in fact a fruit.” (AC/Washington Post) ...If those cunning linguists ever have to assess GREATTIT, it’ll give them an infarction.