Dictionary.com has crowned “67” (pronounced “six-seven”) their 2025 Word of the Year. What is this mysterious phrase, and why is it so popular? Why do students take advantage of every opportunity they can to blurt it out in math class? Why do we use it, and where did it come from?
Philadelphian drill rapper Skrilla’s 2024 single, “Doot Doot,” contains the line: “Six-seven, I just bipped right on the highway (bip, bip).” This part of the song has been remixed several times on TikTok, popularized by basketball player LaMelo Ball, whose height is six feet and seven inches.
Ever since the song became popular, young people have been shouting it out as a slogan demonstrating their awareness of the subtle social phenomenon. We hear “six-seven” every day: family members at home crack the joke, a friend hanging out during lunchtime might use it, or a teacher might say it in an attempt to connect with their class.
Teachers are constantly implementing the trend into their lessons. Teachers are ready to pounce with a “six-seven,” especially when it comes to the discussion of numbers. “[I use it] maybe once or twice a week…to get a chuckle. If I have to pick a coordinate, (6, 7) is a good one,” said math teacher Nick Schoen.
Some people have even gotten famous for perpetuating the meme. This spring, a TikTok video of now-seventh grader Maverick Trevillian shouting “six-seven” at a basketball game became viral, launching him into minor fame. Trevillian’s face has been distorted through filters and turned into the icon of various “uncanny” analog horror memes. Trevillian has recently gone on what he refers to as a “tour” in Los Angeles, and has dropped limited edition “67 MERCH.”
Though everyone’s knowledge of “six-seven” has essentially become the status quo, it’s still cool to be “in” on the joke. “It sort of brings people together somewhat, because everyone gets the same joke,” said senior William Zhao. “Everyone’s laughing.”
Despite the huge blowup around the phrase, “six-seven” has no specific meaning. Dictionary.com describes it as a phrase that is “ambiguous” and is “intended to be nonsensical and playfully absurd.” Skrilla himself said “I never put an actual meaning on [six-seven], and I still would not want to.”
“It’s more of an abstract thing,” commented late-night comedian Stephen Colbert, upon informing his audience of “six-seven”’s unclear meaning. “It reminds me of my favorite Picasso quote: ‘Art is a lie, doot doot six-seven, I just bipped right on the highway.’”
