It means “bird of prey” or “raptor” in Italian. Pretty clever, eh? I thought so, but shortly after ordering the plates, I got an e-mail from Personalised Plates Queensland (PPQ) letting me know that the combination had been flagged for review. I had the following options:

1. Provide Additional Context
2. Explore Alternative Combinations
3. Cancel My Order

I promptly chose the first option and replied. After three business days, this is the response that I got:

As the most common translation that PPQ is able to find is Predator, this is not a combination PPQ is able to issue on a government form of identification.

The most common translation? I find that hard to believe. I mean, a raptor is a predator, but then so are a lot of things, like cats. Speaking of cats, let's view the word “cat” through the same lens that PPQ is apparently using. Prostitutes were once known as “cats”, hence the term “cathouse” when referring to a brothel. Where am I going with this? Well, if you're going to drill down on definitions like that, then this plate style suddenly becomes highly questionable:

Watch out Catriona, you're in for a rough time on the school run!

Now, we all know that it's referring to the fuzzy animals that we keep as pets, which I have two of. But that's my point, anyone that knows or cares to find out what “rapace” means knows that it's a specific type of bird. This is what I mean by political correctness going too far. It also doesn't help that all correspondence from PPQ has the following message at the end:

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country in South Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera nations, and recognise their continued connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Don't get me started on this nonsense. I can't stand it. It appears everywhere from TV shows to school assemblies, and even as I'm writing this, I can feel myself getting carried away, which I said I wouldn't do.

So, what did I end up doing about the personalised plates? Well, I chose a different combination. I don't want to jinx myself though, so I'm not going to let the cat out of the bag (pun intended) until I actually have the plates in my hand.

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