Question 1

What does "mans" mean in Toronto slang?

Accepted Answer

"Mans" is used as a stand-in for "I" or "me" in Toronto slang, e.g. "mans is tired." It's believed to come from Jamaican Patois as spoken in Toronto's Caribbean communities, and it's studied academically — University of Toronto Mississauga linguist Derek Denis has published research specifically on this usage.

Question 2

Why is Toronto called "the six" or "the 6ix"?

Accepted Answer

It refers to the 1998 amalgamation of six municipalities — old Toronto, North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, York and East York — into one city, with a nod to the 416 area code. Toronto rapper Jimmy Prime used "the 6ix" in street culture before Drake made it globally famous with his 2015 album Views From The 6.

Question 3

What is Multicultural Toronto English (MTE)?

Accepted Answer

Multicultural Toronto English is the academic name linguists use for what's commonly called "Toronto slang." It's a multiethnolect — a shared way of speaking that developed among young people in Toronto's multicultural inner suburbs, blending Jamaican Patois, Somali, Arabic and other languages with Canadian English. It was named and is actively researched by Dr. Derek Denis at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

Question 4

Where did Toronto slang actually come from?

Accepted Answer

It developed primarily in Toronto's inner suburbs — Jane and Finch, Rexdale, and parts of Scarborough like Malvern — through two major immigration waves: Jamaican immigration through the 1960s-1980s, and Somali immigration following Somalia's civil war in the early 1990s. Kids from these and other immigrant communities, sharing the same schools and blocks, built a shared vocabulary drawing mostly from Jamaican Patois with real Somali and Arabic contributions.

Question 5

Is using Toronto slang cultural appropriation?

Accepted Answer

It's genuinely debated, and the communities who built this vocabulary have raised real concerns about it — some feel pride at seeing it go global, others discomfort watching words that once marked them as outsiders get flattened and monetized by people with no connection to where they came from. The respectful move is knowing and crediting the origin of a word rather than treating it as ownerless internet slang, which is why this site notes each term's likely origin.

Question 6

What does "bare" mean in Toronto slang?

Accepted Answer

In Toronto slang, "bare" means "a lot" or "very" — the opposite of its standard English meaning. "There's bare people at the mall" means there are a lot of people at the mall.

Question 7

What does "peak" mean in Toronto slang?

Accepted Answer

"Peak" describes something unfortunate, unfair, or genuinely bad — "that's peak" is roughly equivalent to "that sucks."

Question 8

How is the Toronto Mans Dictionary different from Urban Dictionary?

Accepted Answer

Urban Dictionary is open, crowd-submitted, and largely unmoderated. This site is a curated, researched reference focused specifically on Toronto and GTA slang, where every entry is compiled from published sources (linguistics research, journalism, cultural writing) rather than anonymous user submissions, with sources listed for every entry. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Urban Dictionary in any way.

Question 9

Can I submit a Toronto slang word that's missing?

Accepted Answer

Yes — use the "Submit a term" button on any page. It opens a short form and hands off a pre-filled email to the site owner with your suggested term, definition and example.

Question 10

What is Torontle?

Accepted Answer

Torontle is a Wordle-style word-guessing game built entirely from this site's own Toronto slang dictionary. There's a new shared daily puzzle every day plus an unlimited Practice mode.

Toronto Slang FAQ