The Dictionary.com Word of the Year is 6-7, which is so 6-7

If you ever forgot that teenagers want to be different, you're probably 6-7.

Don't know what that means? Neither do I. But of course, neither do tweens and teenagers who made that term so ubiquitous that it's Dictionary.com's "Word of the Year" for 2025.

Forget that "6-7" isn't a word. Forget that there's no definition. Consider it an exhibition of the power of teens.

That's so 6-7.

To the uninitiated (which is most of us), 6-7 became a common (overused) phrase this summer among school-aged kids, launched by its repetition in the song "Doot Doot (6 7)" by Skrilla (fun fact: Skrilla's real name is Fred Skrillakowski and he's a 54-year-old truck driver from Iowa. Fun truth: That's not true).

Dictionary.com wrote that 6-7, "is a viral, ambiguous slang term" that is largely nonsensical. Some say it means "so-so" or "just OK," or "maybe this, maybe that."

In other words, if kids wanted to be clear, they could say "so-so," "just OK," or "maybe this, maybe that." Or maybe not. There's a mystery to the meaning – and as always, there's a suspicion among adults that it has to do with drugs or sex.

That's so 6-7.

However, there's a possibility – maybe a likelihood, if you're a sports nerd and know players' heights – that 6-7 really grabbed people's attention when the Skrilla song was used frequently on video clips of LaMelo Ball, a player for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets who stands . . . are you ready? . . . 6 foot 7.

LaMelo Ball is 6-7! Although I'd suggest he's more than "so-so" or "just OK." LeMelo Ball has a reasonable chance to be an NBA All-Star.

But there are other possibilities.

The official Wikipedia entry says, "Some have connected it to 67th Street in Skrilla's hometown of Philadelphia or to 67th Street in Chicago. Linguist and African American English expert Taylor Jones has speculated that it may refer to '10-67,' the police radio code used to notify of a death. ... Skrilla himself has stated, 'I never put an actual meaning on it and I still would not want to.'"

After saying that, Skrilla got back into the cab of his 18-wheeler, called his wife Judy back home in Iowa, and asked if she could cook meatloaf for the first night when he returned. (This is called "continuing the bit," which is 6-7.)

Ultimately, the "Word of the Year" award holds up about as well as the Heisman Trophy in terms of predicting the future. Just go back 11 years, for instance: The Word of the Year was "exposure" and the Heisman Trophy winner was Marcus Mariota. The best you could do to suggest either had a lasting impact is to say, "Marcus Mariota seemed OK until he got exposure and we realized he's a 6-7 quarterback."

Is 6-7 worth remembering? It depends on who's in your life. If you are around a group of 13-, 15- and 17-year-olds, maybe. If not, it will probably fade into obscurity, only to be revived in 20 years when they're in their 30s and complaining about how kids are dumb.

Kids aren't dumb. They want to be different than adults. They want their own thing.

The last thing they want to be is 6-7, if my understanding is correct.

Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.