In a recent survey conducted by a Michigan college, the phrase “6-7” has been deemed “cooked” and is recommended for a significant pause as we enter the new year.
These terms are featured in the 50th edition of the “Banished Words List,” unveiled Thursday by Lake Superior State University. This playful compilation of overused slang began as a New Year’s Eve party idea in 1976 and is humorously referred to as the list of “Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use, and General Uselessness.”
Lake Superior State University reported receiving approximately 1,400 submissions from all 50 states, along with contributions from several countries worldwide, including Uzbekistan, Brazil, and Japan.
Other phrases making the top 10 include “demure,” “incentivize,” “perfect,” “gift/gifted,” “my bad,” and “reach out.” Notably, “my bad” and “reach out” have appeared on the list before, in 1998 and 1994, respectively.
“This list reflects the trends and language fads prevalent among the younger generation,” remarked David Travis, president of Lake Superior State University. “Social media amplifies opportunities to misunderstand or misuse language. We now use words shared primarily through texting or online posts, lacking the context of body language or tone, which makes misunderstandings more likely.”
In 2025, few expressions puzzled those over 40, such as parents and educators, more than “6-7.” Dictionary.com even selected it as their word of the year for 2025, while other dictionaries opted for terms like “slop” and “rage bait.”
But what does “6-7” actually mean? It exploded over the summer, especially among Gen Z, and is considered by many to be nonsensical in meaning – an inside joke driven by social media.
“Don’t worry, because we’re all still trying to figure out exactly what it means,” the dictionary’s editors wrote.
Each number can be spoken aloud as “six, seven.” They even can be combined as the number 67; at college basketball games, some fans explode when a team reaches that point total.
The placement of “6-7” at the top of the banished list puts it in good company. In 2019, the centuries-old Latin phrase “quid pro quo” was the top requested phrase to ban from popular use. In 2017, ” fake news ” got the most votes.
Alana Bobbitt, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, is unapologetic about using “6-7.”
“I find joy in it,” Bobbitt said. “It’s a little bit silly, and even though I don’t understand what it means, it’s fun to use.”
Jalen Brezzell says a small group of his friends use “6-7” and that it comes up a couple of times each week. But he won’t utter it.
“Never. I don’t really get the joke,” said Brezzell, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. “I don’t see what’s funny about it.”
But banning it, even in jest, might be a bit of a stretch, he said, adding that he does use other words and phrases on the list.
“I’ve always used the word ‘cooked,’” Brezzell said. “I just think it got popular on the internet over this past year. It’s saying, like, ‘give it up, it’s over.’”
Some of the phrases do have longevity, Travis said.
“I don’t think they’ll ever go away, like ‘at the end of the day,’” he said. “I used ‘my bad’ today. I feel comfortable using it. I started using it when I was young. A lot of us older people are still using it.”
Travis said that while some terms on the list “will stick around in perpetuity,” others will be fleeting.
“I think ‘6-7,’ next year, will be gone,” he said.
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