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I have heard a few Hongkongers saying seven in a similar, likely identical, context. I assume they are addressing a person because when they say it, they make the L hand gesture. I could be wrong, but my intuition is that seven is a slang in Cantonese and means something like loser.
Did I guess it right? If not, what is the slang meaning of seven in Cantonese? Or is it just a random joke?
Thanks in advance!
It is a foul character, usually pronounced as "cat6".
The original character is "𡴶", which means "scrotum". On the contrary, in modern slang uses, it refers to the penis in a flaccid state, and is commonly written as "𨳍" or "柒". The implied meaning is thus "useless", "stupid", etc.
Many people tweak the pronunciation from "cat6" to "cat1" (hence, "七"/"柒") to avoid speaking the foul character directly. Other alternatives like "sat6" (實) are also used.
柒in Five rude words in Cantonese and in this dictionary.