Florida Woman's Hilarious Reaction To Racy New License Plate Number Goes Viral—And Here Come The Jokes

Florida has given the internet plenty of strange stories over the years, but few arrive courtesy of a state-issued license plate. One Florida woman recently found herself at the center of the latest Sunshine State spectacle after spotting an unfortunate combination of letters and numbers on her newly assigned tag—and the internet immediately did what the internet does best.

Pompano Beach resident Nancy Dello Stritto opened her mail to find a license plate that could easily be interpreted as a crude phrase. Rather than laugh it off, she was less than thrilled by the discovery.

Speaking to CBS News Miami about the unexpected tag:

"I don't think a senior who is almost 77 will be driving around with a plate that has that to say…”

The plate in question? Well, it reads "SQZ A55."

Take a look at the offending license plate below:

Depending on who you ask, it's either an innocent sequence of letters and numbers or a state-issued punchline that somehow made it onto the road. Either way, Dello Stritto was stunned when she opened the envelope and discovered what would soon become the most talked-about license plate in her corner of South Florida.

Recalling the moment she first saw the plate, Dello Stritto said:

"When I saw that, I went ballistic. I said, 'How could that pass inspection?'"

As it turns out, Dello Stritto wasn't the only person with an opinion about the now-infamous tag.

It remains unclear how the combination was issued. Florida license plates have been manufactured at a state prison in North Florida for nearly a century, and then distributed through county agencies. Dello Stritto's plate was mailed from the Broward County Property Tax Collector's office as part of a standard replacement cycle.

Dello Stritto told 10 Tampa Bay:

"And this is what I received from the DMV for my new license plate. That’s good for 10 years."

As word spread, the plate quickly became a topic of conversation at Dello Stritto's retirement community, where residents apparently had very different opinions about whether the tag was offensive or hilarious.

While Dello Stritto initially wanted nothing to do with the unusual configuration, many people around her felt differently. According to her, her sons and their friends encouraged her to keep it. The informal vote wasn't exactly close, either. She said the tally reached 16-1 in favor of putting the plate on her vehicle.

Dello Stritto even ran the plate by a neighbor, perhaps hoping someone else would share her alarm. Instead, the neighbor offered a glowing one-word review: "Good."

You can watch the hilarious interview here:

Not everyone could resist imagining the possibilities. Radio host Dana Loesch joked about the reactions the plate might generate around Dello Stritto's retirement community.

Loesch joked:

"I just want to be in the church parking lot on Sunday to see the reactions.”

Unsurprisingly, the story also made its way to social media, where many commenters encouraged Dello Stritto to keep the plate rather than exchange it. For plenty of users, the accidental double meaning was exactly what made it memorable.

This is what the comment section had to say:

@trew_808/TikTok

@madisonleanne8/TikTok

@nanaonakawa/TikTok

@llamalexa/TikTok

@hisgirlfriday5/TikTok

@jblair1118/TikTok

As the jokes continued to roll in, Dello Stritto admitted she had become increasingly open to the idea of giving the plate a chance rather than immediately swapping it out.

CBS News Miami contacted Broward County regarding the situation. An office manager confirmed that the county would replace a license plate deemed offensive free of charge at its Plantation office.

For now, though, Dello Stritto appears to be making peace with her unexpectedly famous tag:

"I'm resigned to it; maybe it was destined for it to be on my car. I can handle it; maybe I'll even get some honks."

Then again, this is Florida, where even a routine license plate renewal can become a viral headline. Most drivers spend 10 years trying not to think about their tag. Dello Stritto may spend the next decade explaining hers.