Eye Weekly renames Toronto for some reason, picking between two cow-themed monikers

Unsatisfied with Hogtown, T dot, the Big Smoke, Toronto the Good, Muddy York, the Queen City and Centre of the Universe, Eye Weekly decided that Toronto needed a new nickname. The paper held a contest, inviting readers to submit to suggestions that would be combed through by an illustrious panel of judges. Today, they announced the winner: El Toro.

Does it sound silly? Give it a chance. It borrows the first four letters of Toronto’s official name, so it makes a sort of phonetic sense. It means “The Bull” in Spanish, of course, which judge Evan Solomon noted had a “delightfully multicultural tinge,” and fellow judge Vito Piazza said indicated that “Toronto has to be (and is) an aggressive player in North America and beyond.”

The runner-up was T-bone, a nickname declared “meaningless, but…funny” by Michael Cooke, the editor-in-chief of Eye’s big brother, the Toronto Star. He was joined on the judges panel by Emily Haines, John Tory, Matt Galloway, Jen McNeely, Evan Solomon, Vito Piazza and Amir Johnson.

So, with over 500 entries, the panel narrowed it down to two choices, both of which refer either to cattle or what gets sliced off of them. We’re not sure which steakhouse the judges met at to discuss the entries, but here’s a modest proposal for the next contest: wait until the mains are served before making the final call.

• Toronto’s new nickname revealed! [Eye Weekly]
• Eye Weekly readers give Toronto a new nickname [Toronto Star]

(Image: Brian Forbes)