Respondents to an annual Michigan college survey of overused and misused words and phrases say ” 6-7 � is �cooked� and should come to a massive full-stop heading into the new year.

Those are among the top 10 words on the 50th annual �Banished Words List,� released Thursday by Lake Superior State University. The tongue-in-cheek roundup of overused slang started in 1976 as a New Year�s Eve party idea, and is affectionately called the list of �Queen�s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.�

Around 1,400 submissions came from all 50 states and a number of countries outside the U.S., including Uzbekistan, Brazil and Japan, according to Lake Superior State.

Also in the top 10 are �demure,� �incentivize,� �perfect,� �gift/gifted,� �my bad� and �reach out.� �My bad� and �reach out� also made the list decades ago � in 1998 and 1994, respectively.

�The list definitely represents the fad and vernacular trends of the younger generation,� said David Travis, Lake Superior State University president. “Social media allows a greater opportunity to misunderstand or misuse words. We�re using terms that are shared through texting, primarily, or through posting with no body language or tone context. It�s very easy to misunderstand these words.�

Few phrases in 2025 befuddled parents, teachers and others over the age of, say 40, more than �6-7.� Dictionary.com even picked it as their 2025 word of the year, while other dictionaries chose words 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.

(AP)