Your student may say “6-7” after he gets home from school. This phrase comes from the 2024 rap song “Doot Doot.”
Watch General Alpha introduces popular slang words to his parents
New social media trends focus on Generation Alpha explaining complex slang to parents.
Are there any “Skividi”, “Liz”, and “Sigma” featured? It’s the season to return to school, and students don’t just bring stomach bugs home. They also say new words and phrases that may not make sense to people who are chronically not online from elementary school.
What kids have been saying these days is that it seems to move faster than the speed of light thanks to social media. And for some people, today’s slang may not even appear to correlate with words and phrases that children are trying to shorten.
In a Tiktok video posted on September 3, Lindsay, a teacher and comedian user known for breaking alpha slang, said the students were saying, “You stole the corruption of my brain.”
Here’s a look at some of the top words, phrases and emojis that General Alpha currently uses.
What is “brain rot”?
Rolling a ball is worth defining “brain rot.” A noun can describe a state that is affected by the use of social media or increased content that has little or no substantial value. Recently, “brain corruption” has been used primarily to describe the latter, and serves as the umbrella term for the following words and phrases:
The phrase “You stole the corruption of my brain” is particularly related to the Roblox game called “Steal Brainrot.” In a fast-paced, robbery-style game, users are tasked with stealing “Brain Rot” from other players. This appears as a different, stupid character.
Used in the sentence: “Slang back to school this year is full of brain decay.”
6-7
meaning: “6-7” is not a more meaningful slang term than a meaningless response.
origin: 6-7 comes from a song called “Doot Doot,” released by Philadelphia rapper Skrilla in December 2024. Skrilla sings in the song. As outlined by Know Your Meme, a database of Meme and Internet Slang, the song “6-7” is likely linked to 67th Avenue in Philadelphia, where the rapper is born. However, Skrilla had not confirmed the meaning of the numbers as of September 4th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnygt6anlzq
On the same day the song was released, Tiktok user Matvii Grinblat posted a video for Charlotte Hornets Point Guard Lamelo Ball. In the video, Grinblat explains the height of a 6-foot-7-inch ball. At this point in the video, the lyrics to “Doot Doot,” where Skrilla sings “6-7.” As of September 4th, Tiktok’s video had over 10 million views.
Several other videos dubbing Skrilla’s lyrics were gaining popularity in the beginning of 2025. The line was originally used to refer to the height of the ball, but we began morphing.
For example, in late January, Tiktok user Tibitoe posted a video with an on-screen caption. This video is set to Skrilla’s song where the “6-7” line plays. The second half of the on-screen caption reads, “Because I heard 67.” As of September 4th, the video had 3.6 million views.
“6-7” explodes again with the “67 Kid” meme after a few weeks of death and you know your meme will explain. In March, content creator Cam Wilder posted a YouTube video of an amateur athletic union basketball game. In the video, the excited boy says “6-7” to the camera, weighs two objects, then moves his hand up and down as if he is moving his arms up and down. This phrase and hand movement gains widespread traction among General Alpha.
See the above clip below with the 12:34 minute mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd4zdpl5qba
Students may just say phrases and do trendy hand movements, but others take a little more “6-7”. In a Tiktok video posted by Mrs. Baron on September 3rd, science teachers address class issues. Students were turning “6” and “7” to the classroom rulers. Baron continues to have conversations with students about vandalism of school property and discipline within the classroom.
“Mrs. Baron understands that the person probably thought it was interesting and they made the wrong choice,” the teacher told her class. “This is an opportunity for me to talk to everyone, level up and respect, and be the best version you can.”
sdiybt
meaning: Sdiybt is the acronym “Twin, start digging Yobat.” This phrase may sound crude, but it doesn’t really make any sense. It’s just a phrase, it can be repeated and it may be more common to hear children say or use “Sdiybt.”
origin: Sdiybt is derived from another short slang phrase, “Digun on Twin Yacht,” which went viral in July. The catchphrase began when the content creator posted a clip for the “SpongeBob SquarePants” episode of “Welcome to the Chum Bucket.” In the episode, the character Plankton asks a robot with SpongeBob’s brain to make him Krabby Patty. However, in the virus clip, the robot’s response is called “starting digun with twin Yobats.”
See the video above below.
Sdiybt became popular this summer, but according to knowing your meme, the meme for this phrase actually dates back to 2019.
That’s a clock
meaning: “Clock It” is used as validation given to those who share new information or gossip. This phrase is used in conjunction with the thumb tap of your finger. This tap shows a person tapping on the tip of their thumb and index finger to express a miniature applause.
origin: The origin of the finger tap associated with the phrase “Clock It” is vague, but it probably comes from Aave, or African-American English. Specifically, the phrase may have roots in Ballroom Culture, an LGBTQIA+ subculture founded by black and Latino communities in the mid-20th century.
This phrase has become mainstream several times over the years. For example, in 2023, Drag Queen Monica Beverly Hills sang her original song, “Not A Soul Can Clock” in episode 11 of season 8 of “Rupaul’s Drag Race: All Stars.”
This year, the phrase and finger taps resurfaced when “Love Island” season 7 contestant Allen “Ace” Green referenced it in a freestyle rap video posted to Tiktok in April. The Green Song clip had been dubbed over 272,000 Tiktok videos as of September 4th.
dead rose emoji
meaning: According to knowing your meme, red wilted rose emoji (🥀) is used to represent damage or heartbreak.
origin: Dead rose emojis are nothing new. It was added to Unicode, the universal character language in 2016 as part of the 9.0 update.
One of the most popular satirical uses of emojis was in 2032. X user sat in a dark room looking out the window and posted a photo of Peter Griffin’s AI from “Family Guy.”
Gretacross is a national trend reporter for USA Today. Story ideas? Please email her gcross@usatoday.com.
