ankromming
To “ankrom” something is to vandalize something, such as a sign, in order to improve it. A successful act of ankromming should be left alone by officials, or even incorporated into the next official revision.
This verb is named after Richard Ankrom, the artist and signpainter who added a “North Interstate 5” indicator to an exit sign along Los Angeles’ 110 Freeway, in order to show an exit that wasn’t shown on that sign before. His work went unnoticed by Caltrans for two years, after which he revealed his act of vigilante signpainting, and Caltrans kept Ankrom’s edit on the next revision of that sign.
This verb is named after Richard Ankrom, the artist and signpainter who added a “North Interstate 5” indicator to an exit sign along Los Angeles’ 110 Freeway, in order to show an exit that wasn’t shown on that sign before. His work went unnoticed by Caltrans for two years, after which he revealed his act of vigilante signpainting, and Caltrans kept Ankrom’s edit on the next revision of that sign.
I live in a tourist destination. When I noticed a sign in a supermarket that was in only Japanese, I took to ankromming it, writing in the translation with a permanent marker.
ankromming by the riverside June 25, 2026
Get the ankromming mug.