# 25 or 6 to 4 explained by Chicago.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-or-6-to-4-explained-by-chicago/775936>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [December 30, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-or-6-to-4-explained-by-chicago/775936 "2016-12-30T23:15:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-or-6-to-4-explained-by-chicago/775936/1 "2016-12-30T23:15:27Z")

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[Here is the original article on the Dope.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1842/what-does-the-chicago-lyric-25-or-6-to-4-mean)

I guess it has already been explained years ago, but here is a recent video confirming it means “25…or 26 to 4 AM”, a time.

[Here is the video.](http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/12/21/history-of-chicago-excerpt-birth-of-25-or-6-to-4.cnn)

Not sure if that contains any new info., but there it is anyway.

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**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-or-6-to-4-explained-by-chicago/775936/2 "2016-12-30T23:54:26Z")

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I love Chicago! I had heard that explanation before, interesting.

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-or-6-to-4-explained-by-chicago/775936/3 "2017-01-02T16:37:13Z")

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[Two](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=515354&highlight=Chicago) [previous](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=757739&highlight=Chicago) threads on this subject suggest that this won’t be the end of this conversation. 😃  
Apparently the song’s creator isn’t a good enough authority for some.