"6,7"

When the proclaimed  "Word of the Year" is not actually a word and no one knows precisely what it means, it is probably safe to say that we have reached peak cultural absurdity.

The website dictionary.com is not exactly the Oxford English Dictionary, but it is a valuable monitor of linguistic trends, and every year it chooses a word that, it says "captures pivotal moments in language and culture." And for 2025, it has selected as its epochal word "67" (pronounced "six-seven").

I know. Me neither. Essentially it's an internet meme that has made it into the Gen Alpha lexicon, and it doesn't strictly matter what it means, or what we - on the outside - think it means. The most popularly accepted definition, given the incantation of "6,7" must be accompanied by having both hands outstretched, in a juggling motion, is that indicates something deemed "so-so" or, in that rather ugly iteration of the age, "meh", or indeed that most deadly of sins for younger generations, "boring"...

Woman with Clasped Hands
David Simpson Foggie (1879-1948)
Photo Credit: Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture [CC BY-NC-ND]

Its origins lie in the lyric of a song, "Doot Doot", by the American rapper Skrilla, which refers to the 67th Street in Chicago. It was turned into a meme and then went viral when a fresh-faced, curly-haired youngster, attending a high school basketball game looks into the camera and yells "6,7"...

Most of us have experienced what it feels like to be excluded from the cool kids' gang, who have their own secret language and codes. And its entirely in keeping with the character of social media that this year;s hot trend is something that acts to marginalise people not in the know.

Digital exclusion is a modern affliction that affects older people who don't have the online skills ... and social media platforms are responsible for some of the mental health issues most prevalent among its users. Which of us, on Instagram or TikTok or such platforms hasn't felt the pain of loneliness. or ostracisation, or at least envy...

But now, you are in on it, too. and so you won't be blindsided by your children, younger colleagues, when they invoke "67" and do that thing with their hands...

There is something very 2025 about the recognition of "67" as this year's buzz word. There is nothing lyrical about it like "demure" (2024) or "hallucinate" (2023). It's the expression of a pretty unforgiving world where knowing what to buy, what to wear  and - especially -  what to say is what really matters.

(Simon Kelner, The i, 2025)   

Thank you Simon for letting me into the hot new secret of 67. At last I'm "in the know"  and  will not have the affliction, any longer, of being digitally excluded. Can't say that I've suffered much in the way of the pain of loneliness, ostracisation or envy but to be fair I am not on Instagram, TikTok and other such platforms. Perhaps I should join? 

It's a shame I won't be blindsided by my children and younger colleagues any more but  clearly I must pay more attention to people who tell me what to buy, what to wear and especially what to say. I have been terribly remiss, up until now, in all those areas. By the way, I'm really looking forward to waggling my outstretched hands. One must keep up with the times.

If you are a parent, a teacher or anyone who happens to encounter kids and teenagers on a regular basis, the following numbers are likely to strike fear into your heart: "6-7".

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, lucky you.

Usually spoken aloud and accompanied by a gesture like you're weighing up a melon in either hand, it's the latest slang term to take Gen Z, and their younger cohorts in Gen Alpha, by storm. You'll find "6-7" grafffiti scratched into school desks and hear shouts of "6-7" disrupting school assemblies to the annoyance of headteachers everywhere.

Where did it come from? Well you can trace the emergence of the meme back to a song called "Doot Doot (6 7) from Philadelphia-born rapper Skrilla.

Viral content creator and high school basketball player Taylen Kinney then added the irresistible hand motion and well, the rest is TikTok history.

The trickier part is: What does it mean? Well, according to everyone from The New York Times to Rolling Stone magazine, absolutely nothing.

Some kids appear to be using it as a byword for feigning indifference - the equivalent of a shrug - while others fire it out at random.

One 16-year-old told The Times that it was basically a way to frustrate grown-ups. "No offence to adults," she said, "but they always want to know what's going on."

"6-7" has also been described as a linguistic example of 21st century Gen Z internet brainrot (brainrot if you aren't familiar, is internet content that is designed to be actively stupid and make no sense).

Given its online origins, "6-7" has been maligned as evidence that Gen Z and Gen Alpha have finally handed their brains over to the Great Online Brainrot Factory (aka TikTok)

But slang functions as an in-group signifier - you either get why it's funny or you don't, and every time an older person expresses frustration with not getting it only adds to the gag.

Part of growing up is breaking away from the grown-ups around you and becoming your own person, annoying language quirks and all. If you are perplexed by "6-7", that's kind of the point.

(Zing Tsjeng, The i, 2025)