As a slang term passed down from past generations, older people are thought to feel left out. “The point is, it’s not for you,” says lexicographer Jesse Sheidlow.
Watch how Gen Alpha introduces their parents to popular slang
A new social media trend focuses on Generation Alpha explaining their complicated slang to their parents.
How are you feeling? “6-7” How tall are you? “6-7” What time is it now? “6-7”
This week, Dictionary.com announced “6-7” (pronounced “six-seven”) as the word of the year, once again spotlighting the nonsense Internet slang trend that’s exploding among Gen Alpha and Gen Z, as well as disgruntled parents and teachers.
The phrase has been around for nearly a year, and its meaning is in flux. According to online dictionaries, the word is interpreted by some people to mean “so and so” or “maybe this, maybe that,” but it can also be used on its own to elicit laughter or cause confusion.
Dictionary.com says it’s an example of “brainless slang” meant to be “nonsense, playfully ridiculous”, like last year’s “skibidi”, because its meaning changes.
For many adults, it’s difficult to keep up with word trends on social media sites like TikTok. But experts say this is nothing new, especially in the internet age, where trends take hold faster than ever.
“Older people have been turning a blind eye to what young people say and do for thousands of years,” Jesse Scheidlow, a lexicographer, educator, editor, author, president of the American Dialect Society, and editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, previously told USA TODAY.
“The point is, it’s not for you,” he added.
How did the “6-7” trend start?
The origin of “6-7” goes back to the song “Doot Doot” released by rapper Skrilla in December 2024. In the song, Skrilla sings, “How to turn that switch, I know he’s gonna die, 6-7.” According to Know Your Memes, a meme and internet slang database, the rapper has not revealed the meaning of “6-7,” but some have suggested it may be referring to 67th Street in Skrilla’s hometown of Philadelphia.
After its release, the song was used as the soundtrack for a basketball highlight video for 6-foot-7 Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball. In an early video, a sports commentator states that Ball, despite being “6’7” tall, plays as if he were 6’1, at which point the song “Doot Doot” begins and the video shows a compilation of Ball’s best on-court moves.
The format has since expanded beyond basketball. In one TikTok, a teenager sings along to “Doot Doot” with the caption, “I got a 67% on my test and I only hear 6 7.”
According to Know Your Meme, the word’s popularity exploded with the “67 Kid” meme. The meme originates from an excited fan at a youth basketball game who said “6-7” while looking at the camera and moving his hands up and down.
Since then, the phrase and hand movement gained widespread attention among the Alpha generation and quickly spread to the mainstream, with sports commentators mentioning it and athletes using the hand gesture during celebrations.
A time when the brain rots
Much of Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s slang comes from the internet, but not from the same corner of the internet that their parents use.
“Popular slang in 2025 will continue to be heavily influenced by TikTok, Instagram, gaming, streaming, Gen Z, and Alpha online communities,” Rand Salihore previously said in an email to USA TODAY. “Trends from social media spread rapidly through memes and viral challenges. Driven by technology, our language is adapting to new slang trends faster than ever before.”
“6-7” is one of the latest buzzwords that has baffled adults. Others include “skibidi”, “SDIYBT”, “rizz”, and “sigma”. While some of these words have meaning, many do not and are part of a growing trend of “brain rot slang” characterized by its absurdity.
Brain rot, the 2024 Oxford Word of the Year, is defined as the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental state as a result of consuming too much content online that is considered trivial or unchallenged.
As young people spend more and more time online scrolling through TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram Reels, young people are increasingly incorporating these meme-related phrases into their daily vocabulary, repeating them as part of an inside joke of sorts.
“This is part in-joke, part social signal, and part performance,” Steve Johnson, director of lexicography for IXL Learning’s Dictionary Media Group, said in a statement Thursday and Monday.
“When people say that, they’re not just repeating a meme, they’re shouting out a sentiment,” he says. “It’s one of the first words of the year to function as an interjection; a burst of energy spreads and brings people together long before anyone agrees on what it actually means.”
