Welcome to the Vancouver Lexicon. Its purpose is to pin down the patois of the City of Vancouver by recording its toponyms, nicknames, slang terms, personalities, places, and other Van-centric things. Full A-Z here.

OPERA MAN | local eccentric | A fixture who has been belting out Italian arias around Vancouver’s Fairview neighbourhood for as long as we can remember. In 2017, Vancouver Magazine was able to identify him as Francesco Pepita, a landlord and poet. It is much easier to hear the surprisingly loud tenor than it is to spot him. Look for a casually dressed fellow with white hair under a baseball cap. Opera Man can be elusive and will often give his fans a wide berth, even going silent if/when they acknowledge his talent.

Usage | “When I used to live in Fairview, like clockwork every summer evening around 8:30pm I would hear ‘Ave Maria’ as Opera Man made his passeggiata.”