Daily writing prompt
If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?
Oh, this one is easy.
If I could permanently ban a word from general usage, it wouldn’t be a four-letter word. It wouldn’t even be a political word. It would be something far more dangerous:
“6-7.”
Yes. Two innocent little numbers. A pair of digits that, in math class, simply mean you’re one point shy of passing. In baseball, it’s the score of a heartbreaking loss. In English class, it’s what you get when you forget to capitalize “I.”
But in the wild? In the cultural ecosystem of TikTok captions and hallway bravado? Suddenly it’s edgy. Mysterious. Cool. Kids throw it around like it’s a secret handshake.
What most of them don’t know is that the phrase traces back to lyrics like:
“Shooter stay strapped, I don’t need mine
Bro put belt right to they behind
The way that switch brrt, I know he dyin’
6-7, I just bipped right on the highway…”
That “6-7”? In Philadelphia police code, a 10-67 is a report of death.
In other words, the cute little hallway slang translates roughly to: “We dropped a body.”
Adorable.
And that’s what fascinates me as an English teacher. Words don’t just float in the air. They come from somewhere. They carry weight. History. Consequence. Even when we pretend they don’t.
Last year, I grumbled about “gaslighting” and “narcissist.” Still valid complaints. Those words have actual definitions. Clinical, specific definitions. But now they’re tossed around like dodgeballs at recess. Disagree with someone? Gaslighting. Self-absorbed? Narcissist. We’ve turned psychology into playground taunts.
Then came “demure,” kidnapped by TikTok and forced into an identity crisis. A word that once meant modest, reserved, even shy—often used admiringly—suddenly meant “mindful.” Because someone with a ring light said so. Apparently we’re one viral video away from redefining “platypus” to mean “tax refund.”
But “6-7” bothers me more.
Because this isn’t just sloppy vocabulary. It’s glamorized violence repackaged as hallway flair.
Imagine if we did this with everything.
“Hey man, that sandwich is straight genocide.”
“Bro, that math test was a felony.”
“She walked into class like absolute bankruptcy.”
Or better yet:
“Poop” now means delicious.
“Taxes” means hug.
“Detention” means spa day.
You don’t get to redefine words just because it sounds cool in a 12-second clip with subtitles.
Language evolves, yes. I’m not naïve. Shakespeare invented words. Slang has always existed. But there’s a difference between organic evolution and careless mutation.
When words lose meaning, we lose precision.
When we lose precision, we lose clarity.
And when we lose clarity, we lose understanding.
I don’t want to ban creativity. I love language too much for that. I just want words to carry what they’re supposed to carry. If you’re going to borrow something from a lyric, at least know what you’re borrowing. Otherwise, let’s just admit it. We’re not redefining words.
We’re just saying noises and hoping nobody checks the dictionary.
Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
About Douglas Blaine
Capnpen is a writer who was a newspaper and magazine journalist in a previous life. A college journalism major, he now works as an English teacher, but gets his writing fix by blogging about a variety of topics, including politics, religion, movies and television. When he's not working or blogging, Capnpen spends time with his family, plays a little golf (badly) and loves to learn about virtually anything.
Ban “6-7” (And While We’re at It, Let’s Redefine “Poop”)
Oh, this one is easy.
If I could permanently ban a word from general usage, it wouldn’t be a four-letter word. It wouldn’t even be a political word. It would be something far more dangerous:
“6-7.”
Yes. Two innocent little numbers. A pair of digits that, in math class, simply mean you’re one point shy of passing. In baseball, it’s the score of a heartbreaking loss. In English class, it’s what you get when you forget to capitalize “I.”
But in the wild? In the cultural ecosystem of TikTok captions and hallway bravado? Suddenly it’s edgy. Mysterious. Cool. Kids throw it around like it’s a secret handshake.
What most of them don’t know is that the phrase traces back to lyrics like:
That “6-7”? In Philadelphia police code, a 10-67 is a report of death.
In other words, the cute little hallway slang translates roughly to: “We dropped a body.”
Adorable.
And that’s what fascinates me as an English teacher. Words don’t just float in the air. They come from somewhere. They carry weight. History. Consequence. Even when we pretend they don’t.
Last year, I grumbled about “gaslighting” and “narcissist.” Still valid complaints. Those words have actual definitions. Clinical, specific definitions. But now they’re tossed around like dodgeballs at recess. Disagree with someone? Gaslighting. Self-absorbed? Narcissist. We’ve turned psychology into playground taunts.
Then came “demure,” kidnapped by TikTok and forced into an identity crisis. A word that once meant modest, reserved, even shy—often used admiringly—suddenly meant “mindful.” Because someone with a ring light said so. Apparently we’re one viral video away from redefining “platypus” to mean “tax refund.”
But “6-7” bothers me more.
Because this isn’t just sloppy vocabulary. It’s glamorized violence repackaged as hallway flair.
Imagine if we did this with everything.
“Hey man, that sandwich is straight genocide.”
“Bro, that math test was a felony.”
“She walked into class like absolute bankruptcy.”
Or better yet:
“Poop” now means delicious.
“Taxes” means hug.
“Detention” means spa day.
You don’t get to redefine words just because it sounds cool in a 12-second clip with subtitles.
Language evolves, yes. I’m not naïve. Shakespeare invented words. Slang has always existed. But there’s a difference between organic evolution and careless mutation.
When words lose meaning, we lose precision.
When we lose precision, we lose clarity.
And when we lose clarity, we lose understanding.
I don’t want to ban creativity. I love language too much for that. I just want words to carry what they’re supposed to carry. If you’re going to borrow something from a lyric, at least know what you’re borrowing. Otherwise, let’s just admit it. We’re not redefining words.
We’re just saying noises and hoping nobody checks the dictionary.
Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
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About Douglas Blaine
Capnpen is a writer who was a newspaper and magazine journalist in a previous life. A college journalism major, he now works as an English teacher, but gets his writing fix by blogging about a variety of topics, including politics, religion, movies and television. When he's not working or blogging, Capnpen spends time with his family, plays a little golf (badly) and loves to learn about virtually anything.