It’s the new slang term dominating social media, but what does the 67 meme mean?
With large swathes of the general public currently scratching their heads and letting out a collective “huh?”, Newsweek decided to investigate.
TikTok has been inundated with posts referencing “67” of late. At the time of writing there were as many as 1.8 million posts on the platform featuring the hashtag #67.
The first thing to point out about the trend is that, in the context of this particular meme, you’ve probably been saying it wrong. It’s not pronounced “sixty-seven” as anyone who has ever read the number 67 might assume. It’s actually pronounced “six seven.” There’s a valid reason for that, which will be explained in due course.
What’s key to note at this juncture is that those saying the words “six seven” in reference to the meme often do so while making a gesture as if weighing up two different options.
The origins of the phrase can be traced back to a song and a basketball player.
It began in December 2024 with the song “Doot Doot” by drill rap artist Skrilla. The song features the now famous lyrics: “6-7, I just bipped right on the highway (bip, bip).”
The track is popular enough but the 67 meme only came into existence when one content creator uses it to describe Charlotte Hornets NBA star LaMelo Ball as playing basketball like he’s six-foot-two-inches tall when he’s six-foot-seven.
Soon other content creators and even some fellow basketball players began to pick up the phrase 67. From there the phrase has exploded with TikTokers and even some Reddit users finding ways to incorporate the term and its accompanying hand gestures into their content. Some, like the TikTok user @mama_vision_ have even spotted it in things like the Harry Potter movies.
While the term has featured in a humorous context in many posts ranging from 67th birthday celebrations to Peppa Pig edits, it has exploded into life in schools in particular, with kids using the phrase in class and some teachers even finding a way to incorporate it into lessons. It’s even started to appear in elementary schools.
What does it mean though? According to one content creator, Coach Barri, a PE teacher who is at the frontline of the phenomenon, not a whole lot. “It’s a brainrot word,” he explains in a video posted to his TikTok @coach_barri, comparing it to similar crazes like the web series Skibidi Toilet.
“Brainrot word” is a term referring to a new online slang term that’s origins stem from often trivial online content that social media users derive amusement from. It doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon according to Barri either.
“It’s just spreading like a wildfire,” he said. “I heard it from last year’s school year and it’s still here today…you’ll be hearing that a lot for the rest of your life.”