# Do you cut your sandwich horizontally, vertically, diagonally, other, or not at all? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 20, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826 "2005-08-20T00:09:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LVgeogeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b19c9b/32.png) [@LVgeogeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVgeogeek)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/21 "2005-08-20T05:40:38Z")
I cut my sandwiches like Cliffy! I also cut sub sandwiches and the like on a diagonal. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/22 "2005-08-20T05:49:44Z")
I don’t cut mine. Sometimes, if I’m feeling whimsical, I cut my husbands work sandwiches diagonally. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/23 "2005-08-20T06:45:08Z")
I fall strongly in the diagonal camp! I strongly prefer my sandwhiches this way and unless it would be an awkward social confrontation, I’ll continue it! ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/24 "2005-08-20T06:53:00Z")
I do a compromise between diagonal and horizontal. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/25 "2005-08-20T07:13:01Z")
People who cut sandwiches are morally reprehensible. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/26 "2005-08-20T08:02:21Z")
Diagonally. Sometimes twice if I want to “get in touch with my inner child”. Especially grilled cheese sammiches. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/27 "2005-08-20T11:16:03Z")
Diagonally, including subs (heroes, hoagies, and wedges). One deli owner I worked for pointed out that it’s easier to approach a nice pointy bite of wedge than a cross section of the middle which (unless your sandwich is made by an artiste who understands the imprtance of uniform distribution of sandwich filling all the way to the edge) is the thickest part. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/28 "2005-08-20T11:42:46Z")
Vertically. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/29 "2005-08-20T11:47:34Z")
Horizontally. That way, each half is narrow enough to be dunked in a glass of cold milk, and you can still have a solid grip on the part that isn’t submerged. I suppose this only makes a difference if your bread is wider than it is tall. Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse bread is much wider than it is tall. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/30 "2005-08-20T13:25:48Z")
It depends on the type of sandwich: PB&J, usually diagonal Grilled cheese, also diagonal, unless I’ve put tomato slices on it. Cooked tomatoes are too messy for a diagonal cut and slop off the pointed ends, so the sandwich gets cut into two rectangles or 4 squares. BLTs, same principle. Sandwiches with chunks of meat (roast beef, salmon, chicken, etc.), two rectangles or 4 squares. Tea sandwiches, especially those with hard-boiled eggs and raw tomato slices, are cut diagonally twice into 4 little triangles so they can be arranged nicely into pinwheels or “tents” on the plate. Tea sandwiches made with spreads (crab salad, for example) can also be cut into 6 little rectangular finger sandwiches. If they’re for a packed lunch, I won’t cut them, since that only encourages them to fall apart inside the baggie. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/31 "2005-08-20T14:00:15Z")
Diagonally twice, so I end up with four neat little triangles. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/32 "2005-08-20T14:30:41Z")
> [@Miss Mapp](#): > > It depends on the type of sandwich: > > PB&J, usually diagonal > > Grilled cheese, also diagonal, unless I’ve put tomato slices on it. Cooked tomatoes are too messy for a diagonal cut and slop off the pointed ends, so the sandwich gets cut into two rectangles or 4 squares. BLTs, same principle. I forgot about the almighty grilled cheese sandwich. I cut it on the diagonal and prefer to consume it with a pickle and a glass of chocolate milk. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/33 "2005-08-20T15:20:42Z")
Vertically! That’s the only way to do it - that or just leave it whole. With a lot of bread, if you cut it horizontally, then you’ve got one half that’s all round, and one half that’s all flat, and then the entire symmetry of the Sandwich Experience is ruined. However, this does not apply to grilled cheese sandwiches, which get cut diagonally. That’s for the same reason why grilled cheese sandwiches need to be made with artificially, yellowy-orange cheese: It just _is_. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/34 "2005-08-20T18:59:27Z")
I cut mine the hard way, the cut running parallel to and between the slices of bread. But I’m thinking of changing, as it makes a big mess. ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/35 "2005-08-20T19:31:22Z")
I mostly agree with **Miss Mapp** , but I change it up sometimes depending on my mood. Though, if I make sandwiches for the whole family at home, they will be cut differently depending on who is going to eat them, for example: youngest son- vertical, crust removed middle son- whole, crust occasionally removed depending on sandwich type oldest son - diagonal me - diagonal husband - whole ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/36 "2005-08-20T19:49:24Z")
I don’t cut them, unless they’re a big sub sandwich or something. I don’t see the point. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/37 "2005-08-20T19:54:11Z")
Vertically. Uncut sandwiches lose their fillings when I make them. Now I want a grilled cheese sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/38 "2005-08-20T20:24:26Z")
I’m flexible. Usually I cut diagonally, unless the shape of the bread is not conducive to that cut, then I’ll either cut it vertically or not at all. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/39 "2005-08-20T20:33:50Z")
My preference is to trim the crust, make the sandwich and cut it into 1" squares. 🙂 If it is such as to fall apart when cut then staples will hold it together. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826/40 "2005-08-20T20:37:51Z")
Not at all, and if I’m buying a 12-incher from Subway or the local Philly Steak shop I’ll often request from them my sandwich not be cut in half, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-cut-your-sandwich-horizontally-vertically-diagonally-other-or-not-at-all/317826.md?page=3)