Word of the day: Scratchitti

While waiting for the train a few months ago, Dereck and I were just staring blankly at "the rules" posted and came across this.

If you'll look closely at the violation listed below...

It is a violation to...damage subway or bus property - that includes graffiti or scratchitti....

That is a new word to me! Has anyone else heard of it?!?

According to everything2.com the definition is:

"Scratchitti is a form of graffiti that's made by etching and carving your tag on an object instead of using tools like marker ink or spray paint. Most commonly this is seen on the glass on subway doors, bus windows and school desks. Popularity for scratchitti has risen over the past decade as more cleaning agents were developed that eased the cleanup of traditional graffiti. Scratchitti permanently damages the surface thus giving it a longer lifespan. It's much cheaper to paint over a wall with graffitti than it is to replace an entire window covered in scratchitti. "

Awesome.