Menty B

About

Menty B is a slang phrase and colloquialism that stands for "mental breakdown." While the exact origins of the phrase are unknown, it was popularized in 2021 on X and TikTok after users posted that they "heard someone" call a mental breakdown a "Menty B" and liked the sound of it. Many users often utilize the phrase, even as they note the absurdity of the term.

Origin

The earliest known use of the phrase "Menty B" online is a July 22nd, 2021, post on X^[1] by user @blackprints in which they say, "just saw someone call a mental breakdown a 'menty b' and I am definitely going to start saying that." The post gathered over 36,000 likes in two years (seen below).

On July 25th, 2021, TikToker^[2] @cheyannejane posted a video saying that they "heard someone" use the phrase "Menty B" to describe a mental breakdown, and that they will be using the term as well. The post gathered over 500,000 plays and 59,000 likes in two years (seen below).

Spread

In November 2021, the Macquarie Dictionary^[7] included the colloquialism "Menty B" in its list of 2021 Word of the Year.^[7]

"Menty B" continued to be used on X in subsequent months, with X^[3] user @justme_rod making a joke about the phrase on September 10th, 2022 (seen below, left). On September 27th, the Instagram^[4] page @betootaadvocate posted a parody article using the phrase, gathering over 23,000 likes in a year (seen below, right).

On January 31st, 2022, TikToker^[5] @claudiaravioli posted a video saying "Guess who just had a little Menty B," gathering over 1.3 million plays and 116,000 likes in two years (seen below, left). On September 3rd, 2023, TikToker^[6] @undiagnosedadhd9 posted a clip saying that they love how Gen Z has made "taboo" topics funny, using "Menty B" as an example. The post gathered over 1.6 million plays and 260,000 likes in two months (seen below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References