The Surprising History of ‘6-7’: How the Slang Term Connects to a Dice Game and William Shakespeare

Those with a tween or teen in their lives have probably heard the term ‘6-7’ thrown around, accompanied by an up-and-down hand gesture, in the past few months. While the word itself has been thought to lack a defined meaning, often being referred to as brain-rot, there might be more to it.

The phrase became popular in the past few months after rapper Skrilla released his song “Doot Doot (6 7)” in February. Skrilla’s track was then used for basketball edits online, specifically ones with NBA player Lamelo Ball, whose height is 6’7″.

However, in a Fox News Digital article published on Thursday, November 20, writer David Marcus investigated the deeper roots of ‘6-7’. Marcus traced the origins to the dice game Hazard from the 1300s, now known as craps.

“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,” Marcus explained. “Six and seven, gamblers quickly discovered either through math or experience, offered lower odds and hence less chance of winning.”

“From then on, six and seven, taken together, became forever associated with risk and worry,” he shared. “It can be found in the works of [poet] Chaucer, and has marched quite steadily down through the centuries.”

Beyond the dice game, Marcus found a connection with the term ‘6-7’ to none other than playwright William Shakespeare. In Shakespeare’s 1595 play Richard II, the Duke of York stated: “I should to Plashy too, but time will not permit. All is uneven, and everything is left at six and seven.”

Macrus further explained that,”in Shakespeare’s usage six and seven mean risk, worry and confusion,” and people later started saying they were “at sixes and sevens” to describe being confused and concerned.

According to Marcus, the initial meaning of it, indicating something “confusing, unclear, a matter of chance,” aligns with how the term is used today, with the weighing hand gesture, as it signals, “it might be this, or it might be that.”