# Are Hot Dogs sandwiches? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928 "2014-12-22T17:18:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/81 "2014-12-23T05:17:08Z")
I’d agree it meets the basic definition of a sandwich. Its meat on bread, toppings of mustard, onions. Sometimes ketchup. Its very portable and requires only one hand. I wouldn’t ask somebody to bring me a sandwich from a food counter and expect a hot dog. But I’d roll with it and not say anything if they came back with hot dogs and sodas. . ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/82 "2014-12-23T05:21:47Z")
It’s a sandwich in a fuzzy sense, it partially belongs to the set of sandwiches, but not as strongly as some other things. If you told me you think of a hot dog as a sandwich, well, fine, I totally see your logic. However, if I asked you to get me a sandwich and you brought back I hot dog I’d wonder if you were having a bit of a laugh at my expense. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/83 "2014-12-23T06:33:34Z")
I’d need to know which question you are asking. Are you asking if putting a frankfurter on bun makes it sandwich? Or are you asking whether the word “hot dog” necessarily refers to the version with a bun? The first answer is yes–it meets all the requirements. Just because you probably don’t mean a hotdog when you ask for a sandwich doesn’t mean anything, as that’s just inferred from the lack of specificity. If I talk about seeing a “bird,” you generally don’t think I’m talking about a chicken. The answer to the second question is no. A “hot dog” can be the meat or the sandwich. And, unlike “hotdog,” it can also refer to my dachshund when he sleeps too close to the heater, or what he thinks of my chihuhua who is currently in heat. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/84 "2014-12-23T06:47:45Z")
Left out a sentence: Most people, if they saw a chicken, would just say they saw a chicken. “Bird” has taken on an additional meaning in some contexts as “not-chicken.” I can’t remember the name for the linguistic concept. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/85 "2014-12-23T08:01:01Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > To be honest, I wouldn’t even call a hamburger a sandwich. I don’t know any Australians who do, and McDonalds don’t market their burgers as “sandwiches” out here, either. Ditto for South Africa. It feels _wrong_ (in an almost Lovecraftian sense) to refer to a Big Mac as a sandwich. It’s a burger. Burgers aren’t sandwiches. > [@](#): > > To me, a sandwich uses two slices from a loaf of bread with filling in between. Ditto here. As to the question about a single slice folded over: is the nett effect that of a normal sandwich cut in half? Then it’s half a sandwich. Or is it more like a taco? Then it’s something else. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/86 "2014-12-23T08:04:35Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Hot dogs are American, it doesn’t matter what they’re called in Australia. The idea of sausage-in-a-bun[predates America](http://medievalcookery.blogspot.com/2010/01/medieval-hot-dog-stand.html) by quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![StrangeBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@StrangeBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrangeBird)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/87 "2014-12-23T08:49:51Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > OK, that’s different than US usage, then. So you call it a “chicken bun”? Yeah, we don’t have any nomenclature like that here, to my knowledge. Chicken burger or fish burger, rather than ‘bun’. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/88 "2014-12-23T11:35:11Z")
No it isn’t. Also, after reading two pages of this, the word “sandwich” looks really weird. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/89 "2014-12-23T12:56:26Z")
There was a time when “Yes” had a pretty comfortable 60-40% lead… now “No” is ahead by a single vote! :eek: (2 votes if Siam Sam would vote.) I blame the Australians. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/90 "2014-12-23T13:22:18Z")
So, I’m trying to get this straight… If I use two slices of bread it is fine to call it a sandwich. If I use one and fold it it is a half sandwich, but if I cut it it is two pieces so it is a full sandwich again. If I cut the bread horizontally it becomes a bun and may or may not be a sandwich, but if I cut it most of the way through but not completely it becomes a roll and no longer a sandwich. What if I cut a double width slice from a loaf and then cut it down the middle but not quite all the way through so it looks like two slices of bread but it is still barely attached at the bottom. Then I fill the void with something edible. Is it or is it not a sandwich? Does it matter the dimensions of the bread? I’m scared to even contemplate a pita, and no longer feel I’m going to be able to eat lunch again because I won’t know what I’m eating. Life was more simple before the Dope got involved. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/91 "2014-12-23T13:46:56Z")
> [@StrangeBird](#): > > Chicken burger or fish burger, rather than ‘bun’. Ah, I see. We have “chicken burger” and “turkey burger” here in the US (moreso the latter), but they have a different meaning: those would consist of ground chicken or turkey formed into a patty and cooked like a beef hamburger. (At least that’s how I’ve always seen and heard it.) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/92 "2014-12-23T13:54:19Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Ditto for South Africa. It feels _wrong_ (in an almost Lovecraftian sense) to refer to a Big Mac as a sandwich. It’s a burger. Burgers aren’t sandwiches. The menus give prices for “meals” that supply fries and drinks with the burgers, do they not? What term identifies prices for burgers _without_ fries and drinks? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/93 "2014-12-23T14:05:29Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > The menus give prices for “meals” that supply fries and drinks with the burgers, do they not? What term identifies prices for burgers _without_ fries and drinks? I’m going to guess “burger.” (I did find some McDonald’s menu earlier–but I forget from which country–that did have “burger” in the place where “sandwich” would be found on American menus.) ---
**Author:** ![alted315](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cc9497/32.png) [@alted315](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alted315)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/94 "2014-12-23T14:31:18Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > So a [Double Down sandwich from KFC](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Down_%28sandwich%29)… not a [sandwich](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwich)? um no its barely even food ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/95 "2014-12-23T15:01:24Z")
> [@alted315](#): > > um no its barely even food Oh, it’s food alright… about two days worth calorie wise. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/96 "2014-12-23T15:08:46Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It’s just that logic has escaped this thread. Well, logic and nomenclature don’t often have much to do with one another. ---
**Author:** ![SacFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@SacFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SacFly)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/97 "2014-12-23T15:45:50Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone refer to a hot dog as a sandwich in my life. If I tell you that we’re having sandwiches at my cookout this weekend, do you think, “oh, he must mean hot dogs” or “what kind of idiot serves sandwiches at a cookout?” If you wanted to argue abstract categories I would say its a cousin to the sandwich, not a sibling. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/98 "2014-12-23T15:51:46Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > To be honest, I wouldn’t even call a hamburger a sandwich. I don’t know any Australians who do, and McDonalds don’t market their burgers as “sandwiches” out here, either. > > To me, a sandwich uses two slices from a loaf of bread with filling in between. Using a bun results in… a bun with filling, not a sandwich as such. So hotdogs aren’t sandwiches, nor are hamburgers, nor are tacos, nor are KFC Double Downs. Can’t speak to Australia. Walk into any non fast food restaurant in the US that serves burgers as part of their fare. Look at the menu. The burgers (and hot dogs, if they have them) will be listed under the heading “Sandwiches”, along with grilled cheese, BLTs, Reubens, and the like. I’d be safe in saying that this is the case nearly 100% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/99 "2014-12-23T16:00:21Z")
> [@SacFly](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone refer to a hot dog as a sandwich in my life. > > If I tell you that we’re having sandwiches at my cookout this weekend, do you think, “oh, he must mean hot dogs” or “what kind of idiot serves sandwiches at a cookout?” > > If you wanted to argue abstract categories I would say its a cousin to the sandwich, not a sibling. Well, I would say it’s like the bird analogy above. If I hear someone “keeps birds” or has a “pet bird,” I’d be surprised if ends up being a “chicken,” because that’s way down on the list of what I think of when I think of “birds.” But chickens are undoubtedly birds. (Ostriches and emus would also fit into this “atypical bird” category. ISTM that people keep flightless birds in a special category mentally, though they are clearly birds.) I’m sure there are countless other examples like this. If somebody uses the term “sandwich” generically, I admit, I don’t think of hot dogs or hamburgers off the bat, yet I certainly do consider both sandwiches, and there is little argument in the US whether the latter is a sandwich. I also would not think of hot open-faced sandwiches, either, but “sandwich” is the nomenclature for those, too. (Cold open faced sandwiches, I may, because I grew up in an open-faced sandwich eating culture.) Same with lobster rolls. That you will find on menus under “sandwiches” (at least where I’ve seen them), but they only really differ from hot dogs in terms of filling. (The bun is slightly different, being cut from the top rather than the side, but hot dogs in the Boston area are served on this style of bun, too.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928/100 "2014-12-23T16:06:00Z")
This is akin to the question “Is a chicken a dinosaur?”. I think it’s a confusing way to categorize chickens, but there is a valid argument that it is technically true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hot-dogs-sandwiches/707928.md?page=6)