# Sandwiches: how should they be cut? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 28, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102 "2010-05-28T18:49:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/21 "2010-05-28T20:29:15Z")
> [@Teacake](#): > > …I do cut my cheese (or whatever) toasties in half diagonally, but I think that’s because the old fashioned toasty machines always cut them diagonally. If it’s a grilled cheese sandwich (not a toasty), I still cut it in half horizontally. The exception is cucumber sandwiches, which should always be cut into triangles. Question from an ignorant American: what is a cheese toasty? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/22 "2010-05-28T20:36:10Z")
I don’t see much point in cutting a sandwich in half if you intend to eat both halves anyway. That’s something you do for kids or adults who eat like birds. (OK - or at a restaurant where they serve up ridiculously big and calorie-laden monstrosities) In the case that a sandwich _has_ to be cut, diagonally all the way. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/23 "2010-05-28T20:46:24Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Question from an ignorant American: what is a cheese toasty? Heh…well, it doesn’t follow with **Teacake** ’s wording, but Urban Dictionary says: > [@](#): > > **cheese toasty** > Awkward and demeaning method of referring to the heavenly piece of culinary art known as a grilled cheese sandwich. > _1. Mark keeps referring to my beautiful grilled cheese sandwich as a cheese toasty and its feelings are starting to get hurt._ ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/24 "2010-05-28T20:49:33Z")
I usually cut sandwiches diagonally. Grilled cheese sandwiches get cut into quarters, diagonally, because that’s the way my mother used to do it. If it’s rye bread, or some other bread that’s more rectangular than square, it has to be cut as **Harmonious Discord** describes, as a compromise between diagonal and horizontal. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/25 "2010-05-28T20:51:37Z")
> [@Teacake](#): > > Oh no! I’m the only person who cuts their sandwich in half horizontally! I think I’m also the first British person to respond. Coincidence…?! On different breads, I prefer different crusts. Cheap white bread quite often has a less nice top, so I eat that first. Home made bread usually has a nice top, so I eat it last. Cutting it in half horizontally makes sure I don’t accidentally eat all the best bit first. That’s exactly the reason I cut it vertically – if each half-sandwich has some good crust and some less-good crust, I won’t eat all of the best bit first. By the way, growing up my mother cut sandwiches horizontally and sandwiches in restaurants were cut diagonally. I thought I _invented_ cutting sandwiches vertically! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/26 "2010-05-28T21:02:50Z")
To use the terminology of the poll, I cut mine somewhere in between vertical and diagonal. It’s a compromise between symmetrical presentation, mouth accessibility, and optimal crust/bread ratio. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/27 "2010-05-28T21:06:40Z")
I do not cut my sandwiches in half. I eat all the crust off around the sandwich till I’m left with the yummy middle to finish with. (Except grilled cheese where a bit of crust must be left to hold on to so all the cheese doesn’t run out.) ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/28 "2010-05-28T21:16:56Z")
Diagonal, unless it’s PB&J. I don’t cut those 'cause it’s messy. ---
**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:** [May 28, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/29 "2010-05-28T21:22:24Z")
Definitely agree that cheese toasties need to be cut diagonally! Of course, what we need next is a sandwich quantity poll, viz, if you cut your sandwich in two, do you now have two sandwiches? ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/30 "2010-05-28T21:38:01Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > I do not cut my sandwiches in half. I eat all the crust off around the sandwich till I’m left with the yummy middle to finish with. (Except grilled cheese where a bit of crust must be left to hold on to so all the cheese doesn’t run out.) It is obvious that you are a sock monkey because you are posting as me. That is exactly how I eat my sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/31 "2010-05-28T21:42:38Z")
It depends on my mood and I have no preference, though I see no reason to cut crusts off. Such a waste of good sandwich! ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/32 "2010-05-28T22:22:15Z")
I prefer to cut in half vertically. Most bread that I use has a distinct upper crust, and I like my sandwich halves to be identical. If I cut diagonally then one piece will have only upper crust. That makes no sense, each piece need to be equal, otherwise it’s discrimination or something. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/33 "2010-05-28T22:34:20Z")
If you have a \*lot of substance in your sandwich, stacked high so that it’s hard to take a bite, you don’t cut them at all lest they fall apart. If they _were_ to be cut, then horizontally, of course. Those less exciting rectangles to the zesty sandwich triangles will help keep sandwich items where they belong - inside the sammitch hand and not in your lap. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/34 "2010-05-28T22:56:08Z")
**DCnDC** - [This](http://homagedufromage.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/cheese-toastie.jpg) is a (particularly nasty-looking) cheese toasty. Basically there are (were?) these machines, a little like a George Foreman grill, with clamshell-type hot plates top and bottom, heavily indented so that they squashed your sandwich into a weird shape, almost cut all the way through diagonally. You butter both sides of the bread, put the bottom slice in, fill it with cheese or whatever, then put on the top slice and close the machine until it’s appropriately toasted. Then you eat it, possibly dipped in ketchup. Then you have a heart attack. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/35 "2010-05-28T23:16:46Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > I prefer to cut in half vertically. Most bread that I use has a distinct upper crust, and I like my sandwich halves to be identical. If I cut diagonally then one piece will have only upper crust. That makes no sense, each piece need to be equal, otherwise it’s discrimination or something. See, this is my way of thinking. Sandwiches need to be cut, because…well, thinking about it, it seems the only reason is “because that’s how mom did it when I was a kid”. But that’s reason enough, plus I guess it gives a more appealing entry-point\*. But the asymmetry of diagonally or horizontally sliced bread just _bothers_ me - I’ve never seen a loaf of bread where you can’t make some distinction between top and bottom, and it’s just not right on some deep moral level to have a “bottom” half and a “top” half. Slicing further into quarters or triangles would just feel like far too much effort for a sandwich, so vertical it is. And if you have enough sandwich guts that spillage is an issue, you shouldn’t be eating it on bread anyway, that belongs on a roll of some sort, which is an entirely different type of sandwich. \*Though this thread has already given us someone who eats sandwiches circularly-ish, and I’ve got a friend who insists on eating pizza crust-first, so obviously YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/36 "2010-05-29T01:16:46Z")
> [@Teacake](#): > > **DCnDC** - [This](http://homagedufromage.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/cheese-toastie.jpg) is a (particularly nasty-looking) cheese toasty. Basically there are (were?) these machines, a little like a George Foreman grill, with clamshell-type hot plates top and bottom, heavily indented so that they squashed your sandwich into a weird shape, almost cut all the way through diagonally. You butter both sides of the bread, put the bottom slice in, fill it with cheese or whatever, then put on the top slice and close the machine until it’s appropriately toasted. Then you eat it, possibly dipped in ketchup. Then you have a heart attack. Aha. Very nice. Think I saw a late-night infomercial for a similar device a while back. ---
**Author:** ![LegsAkimbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@LegsAkimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegsAkimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/37 "2010-05-29T01:25:59Z")
Great. Now next time I make a simple sandwich to have a simple lunch, I have to spend all kinds of time deciding how I want to cut it. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/38 "2010-05-29T02:05:18Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Interesting article about this very subject [here](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120914097). According to them, diagonal cuts maximize crust-free surface. Makes sense, I guess. This is my reason, and when as a wee lass I asked about down the middle versus diagonal cut, the reason I was told. Plus it’s prettier, an important luncheon consideration. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/39 "2010-05-29T02:13:20Z")
Wait a minute here–some of you cut your sandwiches _horizontally_?? :eek: That’s just sick. You all ought to be ashamed of yourselves. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102/40 "2010-05-29T02:36:58Z")
Generally vertically, although cucumber sandwiches and smoked salmon sandwiches should have the crusts cut off and then be quartered diagonally. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandwiches-how-should-they-be-cut/541102.md?page=3)