It’s not meaningless if Shakespeare wrote it. ‘6-7’, the viral phrase that kids can’t get enough of, is not a brain-rot slang anymore. Now, it holds a connection to the past, one that has depth and history.
‘6-7’ and Shakespeare
After David Marcus, a columnist from Fox News Digital heard his teen explain what ‘6-7’ meant, a chord struck. According to him, the term originates from an old dice game known as Hazard back in time and craps now. “In the game, a player would call out the number he was trying to shoot for, or make, with two six-sided dice. Five, eight and nine were the most likely results. Six and seven, gamblers quickly discovered either through math or experience, offered lower odds and hence less chance of winning,” wrote Marcus in his opinion piece. From then on, six-seven together came to be associated with risk and worry. “It can be found in the works of Chaucer and has marched quite steadily down through the centuries,” he added. Furthermore, he connected the term word of the year to William Shakespeare. “I should to Plashy too, but time will not permit. All is uneven, and everything is left at six and seven,” is an expression he used in his play “Richard II.”
The rise of ‘6-7’ today
For Marcus, it makes complete sense that the Gen Alpha going gaga over the term doesn’t really know its meaning. It is because the phrase is associated with “risk, worry and confusion.”‘6-7’ originated in the lyrics of a Philadelphia rapper’s song. In 2024 Skrilla released a track titled “Doot Doot (6 7)” featuring the line “6-7, I just bipped right on the highway.” The audio was quickly used in TikTok reels and went viral among the American youth who found it fun without the fact. Its craze went so high that its use was banned in high schools, and police in Indiana began giving out fake “tickets” to youngsters caught saying it. It even reached Broadway, where, after a performance of Hadestown, performer Rebecca Naomi Jones said, “Sorry, everyone, we’ll take $6… $7” while collecting donations for Broadway Cares. Now, it seems those partaking in the trend can finally hold their head high while moving their palms up and down and enjoying it.
