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by anyfoo 1866 days ago
Just like "ask me anything" does not necessarily mean anything, it's an expression at this point.

The ELI5 subreddit describes it in its rules as such:

"Rule 4: Explain for Laypeople

As mentioned in the mission statement, ELI5 is not meant for literal 5-year-olds. Your explanation should be appropriate for laypeople. That is, people who are not professionals in that area. For example, a question about rocket science should be understandable by people who are not rocket scientists."