Why You'll Soon Be Ordering A 'Short King' At Dunkin'

Say what you will about social media, but there's no denying that it's certainly made its mark on how we interact, think, talk, and now — even how one of America's largest coffee chains is naming its menu items. This past week, in spring-themed press release unveiling its newest items and menu updates, Dunkin' announced that for this week only (through March 26), customers can snag the newly minted "Short King" iced coffee on the Dunkin' app. 

To be clear, this is not a new sizing option — you'll still be receiving a standard 10-ounce drink — but it's a new tongue-in-cheek naming convention as part of the brand's #ShortKingSpring social media campaign. (Which, if you've missed it, is worth scrolling through!) This move is just one of the latest examples of Dunkin's flair at creating humorous and charming content that taps into current pop culture trends. After all, if America runs on Dunkin', Dunkin' better be staying current on America's trends.

This offering is limited to a regular iced coffee only — it won't be available as a size for every Dunkin' iced coffee or the other items on the Dunkin' Spring 2024 menu. And orders must be placed via the Dunkin' app, not in-store. When ordering "The Short King," Dunkin' offers its usual array of customizations so that you can make your drink just how you like it, with regular or non-dairy milks, sweeteners, cold foam, and other add-ons. 

For those not chronically online, or who just haven't caught wind of this linguistic trend, a "Short King" is an endearing term typically used to refer to a man of shorter stature. Most attribute the now-mainstream phrases's creation to a tweet shared way back in 2018 by a creator and comedian named Jaboukie Young-White.

With a few short sentences, Young-White publicly decried the use of "short" as an insult, rattling off a list of widely beloved and celebrated artists, actors, and musicians who happen to be on the more vertically challenged side — naming Donald Glover, Tom Holland, and Bruno Mars, among others. "Short kings are the enemy of body negativity," Young-White declared, and the term was officially adopted into the pop culture lexicon. Having only picked up steam within the generally body-positive, largely Gen Z space on TikTok, the phrase has become something of a movement to reclaim and repurpose what was once an attribute to mock, into something to own and celebrate.

It's one thing to be TikTok famous, but when America's favorite coffee chain is officially using a social media-originated term as a unit of measurement on its menu, you know it's entered the mainstream. America runs on Dunkin' all year round, but it's about to be a "Short King" start to spring, and we'll raise a drink to that.