Parents may have heard it and not understood what it meant, but now the viral phrase “six-seven” has been crowned the word of the year by a popular online dictionary.
But even Dictionary.com, who stressed it is always pronounced “six-seven” and never “sixty-seven”, admitted it was not exactly sure about its meaning.
“You might be feeling a familiar vexation at the sight of these two formerly innocuous numerals,” Dictionary.com said, addressing parents as it announced the winner this week.
Members of Gen Alpha, it added, might be “smirking at the thought of adults once again struggling to make sense of your notoriously slippery slang”.
Dictionary.com said the origin of the word might be traced to “Doot Doot (6 7),” a song by the US rapper Skrilla.
The phrase went viral in schools and on social media this year, and is usually accompanied by an up-and-down hand motion.
It has been subject to numerous articles online and even featured in a recent episode of South Park.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen even mentioned it in a press conference earlier this month, remarking that it “actually means nothing”.
It can be taken to mean a variety of things, with context, tone and absurdity all playing a role in determining its definition in the moment.
Six-seven had strong competition from other words that were shortlisted for word of the year.
These included “broligarchy,” “Gen Z stare,” and an entry from the world of emoticons — the dynamite emoji.
Its use exploded online with news of the engagement between pop superstar Taylor Swift and American football star Travis Kelce, as it was used as shorthand to refer to the “TNT” couple.
AFP/ABC