By Stacy Mantle
Mail

Each year, parents are met with a slew of new slang as schools open. If your child has shouted “6-7” while waving their hands up and down, relax, you’re not missing much. In fact, there may be nothing to understand at all. 

The deliberately nonsensical phrase is one of the slang terms Arizonans were most likely to look up this year, according to an analysis commissioned by the word-game website Unscramblerer.com.

The company examined Google search activity from Jan. 1 through Aug. 17 to find the unfamiliar words and phrases people were trying to decode.

"6-7,” despite being largely meaningless, was listed as the word of the year for 2025 by Dictionary.com. 

"I just go along with it," Mecque Smoljan said in a facebook comment. "The kids and I have a lot of fun with it.

Once Upon A Child, a Glendale children’s resale shop acknowledged the trend in a Facebook post addressed to parents “dealing with ‘67,’” adding, “The kids definitely won this one.” 

But, while 6-7 doesn’t mean much, other slang terms have more cause for concern. “Chud” ranked first in the company’s Arizona analysis, followed by “6-7,” “larping,” “foid” and “bird.”

Arizona's top 10 slang terms range from  from nonsensical to openly misogynistic, underscoring the importance of why parents should listen — not just to what their children say, but to what they hear and see online. 

Chud

“Chud” is an insult for someone considered rude, obnoxious, ignorant or unpleasant.

The word predates social media. It was popularized by the title of the 1984 horror film “C.H.U.D.,” short for “Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers.” Its modern online use is broader and often political, applied to someone viewed as reactionary, bigoted or aggressively boorish.

In other words, it is stronger and more politically loaded than simply calling someone a fool.

6-7

Pronounced “six-seven,” the expression does not have one agreed-upon definition. That lack of meaning is part of the joke.

It originated from rapper Skrilla’s song “Doot Doot (6 7)” and spread through basketball videos, including edits featuring LaMelo Ball, who is listed at 6-feet, 7-inches tall. Basketball prospect Taylen Kinney and the boy who became known online as the “67 Kid” also helped push it into the mainstream.

Children began shouting it whenever six and seven appeared together, often while making a palms-up hand motion. Dictionary.com named “67” its 2025 Word of the Year, describing it as “intentionally difficult to define”.

Already, the phrase has moved from viral novelty to something adults are still Googling — and younger teenagers are already declaring it hopelessly outdated.

Larping

LARP is an acronym for “live-action role-playing,” in which participants dress and act as fictional characters.

Online, “larping” has acquired a second meaning: pretending to have an identity, belief, lifestyle or expertise that a person does not actually possess.

Someone might accuse an influencer of “larping as working class,” for example, or dismiss an online tough guy as “larping.” It is essentially an accusation that someone is performing a persona for attention or credibility.

Foid

“Foid” is a shortened form of “femoid,” a combination of “female” and “humanoid.”

The term emerged from misogynistic online communities known as the “manosphere” and is used to dehumanize women. It is not simply another casual word for a woman; its origins and typical use are openly contemptuous.

Bird

“Bird” has been used as slang for a woman for generations, particularly in Britain, but its meaning changes considerably by place and context.

In some online communities, it is used dismissively for a woman considered foolish, promiscuous or willing to tolerate a disrespectful partner. Because the term has several older and regional meanings, it should not be assigned one universal definition without context.

Chopped

If someone is called “chopped,” the speaker generally means the person looks unattractive, rough or disheveled.

The word can also describe an object, situation or appearance considered ruined or in poor condition. Like many appearance-based insults, it has become common in short-form videos where strangers apparently feel compelled to grade one another’s faces (which is an entirely different topic).

Unc

Short for “uncle,” “unc” is a teasing label for someone considered old, out of touch or past their prime.

Actual age is optional. Online culture moves so quickly that a person can apparently achieve “unc status” somewhere between getting a driver’s license and turning 30.

The term can be affectionate among friends, although its tone depends on who is saying it and why.

Torta

A torta is, first and foremost, a Mexican sandwich.

Online, however, the Spanish word has also been turned into a derogatory label for a heavyset or curvy Latina. That slang usage is insulting and should not be confused with the ordinary culinary meaning widely used in Arizona and throughout Mexico.

Context matters enormously here. Most Arizona references to “torta” will still be about lunch.

Bop

“Bop” has several established meanings. A catchy song can be a bop and the word has also been associated with a style of dancing.

In more recent youth slang, however, it can be a sexualized insult for someone — usually a female — perceived to have multiple partners or someone who posts provocative material online. Schools and online-safety organizations have warned that the label is often used in cyberbullying.

Sigma

“Sigma male” began as an internet label for a supposedly self-reliant man who exists outside the traditional “alpha” and “beta” hierarchy.

That pseudo-scientific concept has since been memed nearly beyond recognition. Younger users may now say “sigma” sincerely, sarcastically or simply because they think something looks cool.

Its meaning can range from “independent and impressive” to “I am making fun of people who talk this way.”

‘6-7’ dominates national searches

Nationally, “6-7” was the runaway leader in the company’s analysis, with an estimated 1.6 million searches per month.

The national ranking was:

1. “6-7” — 1,602,200 estimated monthly searches
2. “Chud” — 184,900
3. “Rizz” — 171,100
4. “Gooning” — 158,700
5. “Cap” or “no cap” — 96,600
6. “Mogging,” “mogged,” “mog” or “framemog” — 82,800
7. “Bop” — 78,300
8. “Larping” or “larper” — 74,400
9. “Aura,” “aura points” or “aura farming” — 66,400
10. “Sigma” — 65,400

“Rizz” means charm or romantic appeal. “Cap” is a lie or exaggeration, while “no cap” means the speaker is serious.

“Mogging” means dramatically outclassing someone, usually in appearance but sometimes in skill or achievement. “Aura” refers to someone’s perceived presence or coolness. People jokingly gain “aura points” by doing something impressive and lose them through humiliation. “Aura farming” means deliberately trying to manufacture those impressive moments.

“Gooning” originated as an explicit sexual term. It is sometimes used more casually to mean becoming intensely or mindlessly absorbed in something, although that secondary use has not erased the word’s original meaning.

What the searches actually show

The findings are better understood as a measure of confusion than popularity.

A search for “chud meaning” does not establish that someone regularly says “chud.” It establishes that someone encountered the word and had no idea what it meant.

“Using slang is a social signal,” Unscramblerer spokesperson Randoh Sallihall said. “What people search for can tell us something about what they are trying to understand and participate in culturally.”

The company said it used Google Trends to identify searches containing words such as “meaning,” “means” and “slang.” It then used Ahrefs, a commercial search-analysis platform, to estimate monthly volume across approximately 150 variations, including “67 meaning,” “chud slang” and “what does rizz mean.”

Those methods come with limitations. Google Trends measures relative interest rather than releasing complete search counts, while Ahrefs estimates volume using its own data and modeling. The company did not release the underlying Arizona search totals, making it impossible to independently reproduce the state ranking.

The results should therefore be treated as one company’s estimate of which terms generated the most curiosity among those it examined—not as an exhaustive record of every slang search made in Arizona.

Still, the list captures something real: Slang now travels from a song to a basketball video to a classroom before many adults even realize it exists.

By the time they Google it, the kids may already have moved on.

Editor’s note: A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Stacy Mantle
Education Solutions Reporter

smantle@iniusa.org

Meet Stacy
Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.

Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.

Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!

Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.

Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.