Language Matters | Gen Alpha slang ‘6-7’ takes over the world, and it holds more meaning than you think
The Gen Alpha phrase ‘6-7’ was named word of the year by Dictionary.com. We look at its origins and how people use it to create community
Mulling over this week’s column, I polled my multigenerational family in our group chat, which includes three Gen Zs, asking if I should write about the 6-7 meme. The options I gave were:
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Slay! So skibidi!
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On a scale of one to 10, that’s a 6-7 …
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Bruh! Old news!
In the lifespan of TikTok, this is rather ancient news. Tweens and teens – not only those in the US, but also in Australia, Singapore, Vietnam and anywhere youths access social media – have been chorusing “SIX SE-ven” maybe 6 or 7 zillion times in the past year.
You, dear non-Gen-Alpha reader, may, however, have only heard about it 6 or 7 days ago – when “67” (also written “6-7”, “6, 7”, “6 7”, and pronounced “six seven”) was declared 2025’s word of the year by Dictionary.com.
What’s so special about this sequence of once innocuous numbers?
The meme’s roots trace back to Philadelphia rapper Skrilla’s 2024 song “Doot Doot (6 7)”. There, his repeated incantation of “six seven” has been suggested to be a reference to 67th Street in Chicago, with a reputation for being dangerous, or to the 10-67 police code, often used to report a death.
The phrase was heard in a December 2024 video of Kentucky five-star basketball recruit, Taylen Kinney, where he ranked his drink, using hand gestures, weighing the rating “six, six, seven”.
“6-7” was also swiftly picked up by other content creators, using the song especially with basketball sports edits, with particular reference to the National Basketball Association’s LaMelo Ball, said to move like he is 6’2” (188cm) but is actually 6’7”. The 67 Kid video in March 2025 was also a key moment in the trend’s spread.