English: long sandwich

[MisterBernie]

Silly Anglophones and Greeks, it's [ˈɡyːʁɔs] of course

[Přemysl]

I'm still surprised no one has yet to say the term that I heard in Buffalo that inspired me to make this thread: "hoagie'.

[Lyhoko Leaci]

I'm still surprised no one has yet to say the term that I heard in Buffalo that inspired me to make this thread: "hoagie'.

I thought about saying that, but ended up not doing so. That would be easily understood by me, while "grinder" or "gyro" or "hero" might confuse me for a bit or so.

In other news, a baguette is just bread, and kebabs are on sticks. I've never heard of this "döner kebab" before, but it would be a sandwich as well.

[sirred]

What do you call it? Sub
Where are you from? Kansas
Where do you live now? Id.
What else might have influenced your choice? Subway?

[Rui]

I'm still surprised no one has yet to say the term that I heard in Buffalo that inspired me to make this thread: "hoagie'.

I thought about saying that, but ended up not doing so. That would be easily understood by me, while "grinder" or "gyro" or "hero" might confuse me for a bit or so.

I don't call it a hoagie, but when I hear that word, I can't help but picture a Philly Cheese Steak because that's the term used by close family friends from Philly.

[Shm Jay]

What do you call it? Submarine sandwich
Where are you from? Southern Ontario (Toronto)
Where do you live now? Oklahoma
What else might have influenced your choice?

A sandwich chain that, when I was growing up, was known as Mr Submarine, but is now known as Mr. Sub.

I wouldn't call the bread a hot dog sits in a roll, either, but a bun. Rolls are much smaller pieces of bread, and you wouldn't use them to make a sandwich for anyone but a child.

I'm not sure I would call that thing Legion calls a kebab a sandwich either, since the pieces of bread are not separate.

[maıráí]

What do you call it? A sandwich. That is way too small to be a sub.
Where are you from? Texas
Where do you live now? Colorado
What else might have influenced your choice? Having never lived where words like "hoagies", "gyros", and "grinders" are commonplace.

[Sevly]

What else might have influenced your choice? My immense hate for Subway and their worthless, dry sandwiches and the fact that it's a frigging sandwich. I don't suddenly call a hamburger with lettuce and tomato a Big Mac every time I speak of a hamburger with lettuce and tomato just because that's what a certain restaurant calls it. It's still a hamburger!

Subway is named after the sandwiches, not the other way round*, so refusing to call it a sub because Subway does would be like calling a burger a sandwich because someone opened up a store called Burger King. I mean, sure, technically a sub is a type of sandwich, as is a burger, but as Přemysl noted calling it that is as unidiomatic as saying vehicle all the time.

What do I call it? A sub
Where am I from / do I live now? Alberta, Canada

*As a quick Wikipedia search shows, submarine sandwich dates back to the early twentieth century whereas Subway was founded in 1965. So yeah.

[finlay]

What else might have influenced your choice? My immense hate for Subway and their worthless, dry sandwiches and the fact that it's a frigging sandwich. I don't suddenly call a hamburger with lettuce and tomato a Big Mac every time I speak of a hamburger with lettuce and tomato just because that's what a certain restaurant calls it. It's still a hamburger!

Subway is named after the sandwiches, not the other way round*, so refusing to call it a sub because Subway does would be like calling a burger a sandwich because someone opened up a store called Burger King. I mean, sure, technically a sub is a type of sandwich, as is a burger, but as Přemysl noted calling it that is as unidiomatic as saying vehicle all the time.

I find it weird that you think that. Also, remember that the first time sko came across the word "sub", in Sweden, is probably when Subway arrived, so the two are much more likely linked in his mind. (It's the same for me in Britain, I'd never heard the word until Subway, and it never sunk in for me because I think it's a silly word – and I call it a Subway sandwich...)

[Bob Johnson]

Subway is named after the sandwiches, not the other way round*, so refusing to call it a sub because Subway does would be like calling a burger a sandwich because someone opened up a store called Burger King. I mean, sure, technically a sub is a type of sandwich, as is a burger, but as Přemysl noted calling it that is as unidiomatic as saying vehicle all the time.

I find it weird that you think that.

"submarine sandwich" goes back to '41 at least, the subway chain is only '65. They popularized it, they didn't name it.

[finlay]

Subway is named after the sandwiches, not the other way round*, so refusing to call it a sub because Subway does would be like calling a burger a sandwich because someone opened up a store called Burger King. I mean, sure, technically a sub is a type of sandwich, as is a burger, but as Přemysl noted calling it that is as unidiomatic as saying vehicle all the time.

I find it weird that you think that.

"submarine sandwich" goes back to '41 at least, the subway chain is only '65. They popularized it, they didn't name it.

Apparently I'm not very good at editing quotes... maybe this would be better:

but as Přemysl noted calling it that is as unidiomatic as saying vehicle all the time.

I find it weird that you think that.



I don't know whether to at you because it's a perfectly reasonable mistake to make but I do this quite often, cutting down the end and not the beginning and only replying directly to the last sentence in the quoted bit.

[Travis B.]

Subway is named after the sandwiches, not the other way round*, so refusing to call it a sub because Subway does would be like calling a burger a sandwich because someone opened up a store called Burger King. I mean, sure, technically a sub is a type of sandwich, as is a burger, but as Přemysl noted calling it that is as unidiomatic as saying vehicle all the time.

I find it weird that you think that.

"submarine sandwich" goes back to '41 at least, the subway chain is only '65. They popularized it, they didn't name it.

And even then, they are not necessarily associated with it today. For instance, back in Milwaukee there is the Cousins chain (officially they are named Cousins Submarines or Cousins Subs for short, but that is not what they are called by people there), which is the local sub chain, with Subway being seen as the second-rate, fast food-y, outsider sub chain, inferior in every way to Cousins (except maybe calories, as they always skimp on everything on your sub, and if you let them, they'll give you essentially a sub full of shredded lettuce).

[Bristel]

What do you call it? Sub sandwich or hoagie
Where are you from? Seattle, USA
Where do you live now? Pittsburgh, USA
What else might have influenced your choice? Living in Utah, there was a "Hoagie Yogie" where "hoagies" were served, in Pittsburgh they are called hoagies (usually)

[communistplot]

What do you call it? Turkey Hero with Everything on it.
Where are you from? La Ciudad de Nueva York
Where do you live now? La Cidade de Nova York
What else might have influenced your choice? Being right.

Notes: Hoagie is a word for failures, you can never be right if you call it a hoagie, no exceptions.

[Nortaneous]

I'm from Maryland. It's a sub, but the bread is a hoagie roll, or at least that's what it's called on the packaging when you buy them. The other thing is a döner, but I'm not sure what I'd call it in English; the closest thing to the gyros we get around here is 'döner teller' or something like that, which is basically a salad. Except our gyros are on pita bread and usually come with a cup of dressing on the side.

[Travis B.]

I'm from Maryland. It's a sub, but the bread is a hoagie roll, or at least that's what it's called on the packaging when you buy them. The other thing is a döner, but I'm not sure what I'd call it in English; the closest thing to the gyros we get around here is 'döner teller' or something like that, which is basically a salad. Except our gyros are on pita bread and usually come with a cup of dressing on the side.

The "dressing" that goes with gyros is tzatziki - heh - and you're supposed to use it, as it's yummy. Unless they're really giving you dressing... where then they simply suck.

[Chuma]

I'd be inclined to call it a baguette, certainly in Swedish and quite possibly in English too.

I always thought "sub" just came from Subway. Which, by the way, I quite like, as rampant American capitalism goes.

I'm also confused by "sandwich". Does that imply that it's double? What do you call it when it's not double? Are they generally double by default, and if so, why?

[faiuwle]

Does ["sandwich"] imply that it's double? What do you call it when it's not double?

A sandwich with only one piece of bread is a "open-face[d] sandwich".

[finlay]

Does ["sandwich"] imply that it's double? What do you call it when it's not double?

A sandwich with only one piece of bread is a "open-face[d] sandwich".

I call it a piece of bread with stuff on it.

[Travis B.]

I'd be inclined to call it a baguette, certainly in Swedish and quite possibly in English too.

You could very well call the lengths of bread used to make subs baguettes, but not the completed sandwiches, at least in English.

I always thought "sub" just came from Subway. Which, by the way, I quite like, as rampant American capitalism goes.

You could get far better in the way of rampant American capitalism as subs go, I must say.

I'm also confused by "sandwich". Does that imply that it's double? What do you call it when it's not double? Are they generally double by default, and if so, why?

What is and what isn't a sandwich is not necessary very clear cut, and in many ways seems arbitrary. In general, though, not being a sandwich seems to be a matter of emphasizing what is held by the bun, whereas being a sandwich tends to imply that the bready part of the entity is an integral part of it and not merely a holder of sorts. But to actually apply this in practice is another story...

[Travis B.]

Oh, I should note that the non-terming of hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, and the like in English as sandwiches makes much more sense when you frame it in terms of the original German dishes that these were all derived from, none of which have buns. Hence here the bun is clearly an accessory holder from a historical standpoint, even though it is necessary for hamburgers at least with how Americans eat them today. (On the other hand, you can actually still eat hot dogs and brats without modification without the bun in the US today.)

[faiuwle]

Come to that, when he was on his ZOMGcarbsareevil kick, my father used to make hamburgers without buns, too. We still called them "burgers".

[Nortaneous]

I'm from Maryland. It's a sub, but the bread is a hoagie roll, or at least that's what it's called on the packaging when you buy them. The other thing is a döner, but I'm not sure what I'd call it in English; the closest thing to the gyros we get around here is 'döner teller' or something like that, which is basically a salad. Except our gyros are on pita bread and usually come with a cup of dressing on the side.

The "dressing" that goes with gyros is tzatziki - heh - and you're supposed to use it, as it's yummy. Unless they're really giving you dressing... where then they simply suck.

Right, tzatziki. I always forget what it's called.

What is and what isn't a sandwich is not necessary very clear cut, and in many ways seems arbitrary. In general, though, not being a sandwich seems to be a matter of emphasizing what is held by the bun, whereas being a sandwich tends to imply that the bready part of the entity is an integral part of it and not merely a holder of sorts. But to actually apply this in practice is another story...

I think it's easier to tell by what sort of bread it's in. If it's in a hoagie roll, it's a sub; if it's on flat bread, it's a sandwich, unless the bread is folded over and not in two pieces, in which case it's a flatbread sub; and if it's on a kaiser roll or a bun, it's a burger, unless the meat in it isn't hot, in which case you're probably in Germany.

Come to that, when he was on his ZOMGcarbsareevil kick, my father used to make hamburgers without buns, too. We still called them "burgers".

Yeah, beef patties are usually referred to as burgers. Chicken/fish patties, on the other hand, are always chicken/fish patties.

[----]

What do you call it? sammish
Where are you from? Georgia
Where do you live now? Georgia
What else might have influenced your choice? it's definitely a sammish

[Delthayre]

What do you call it? Usually hoagie, but sub wouldn't be unusual.
Where are you from? Southeastern Pennsylvania (Lehigh Valley)
Where do you live now? Southeastern Pennsylvania (Lehigh Valley)
What else might have influenced your choice? Local convention for hoagie, the name of the 'iconic' chain that sells things like the xample as well as its prevalence in the wider world for sub.

Although I would call things like the example a hoagie, to me hoagie does carry some distinctions, namely a mixture of contents, usually at least two kinds of meat, the presence of a substantial amount of lettuce, tomato and onion as well as perhaps pickles and sweet or hot peppers and a fairly robust roll.

A slighly special case is a cheesesteak hoagie, which is a Cheesesteak with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. It is an abomination.

I avoid buying hoagies from Subway; their rolls are too wimpy.

I associate grinder with New England, but I have no personal experience to support that. To me, a sandwich implies that the contents are between two slices of bread from a loaf, not in a bun or roll.