# well, what do YOU call them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 29, 1999, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354 "1999-12-29T19:26:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![melanietarrant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@melanietarrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melanietarrant)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/1 "1999-12-29T19:26:00Z")
living in a suburb of Philadelphia, i enjoy a good hoagie. i went into a sandwich shop in new york state and ordered one and they looked at me like i was from Mars i recently worked at a hoagie shop, and i got to hear all sorts names for these large sandwiches i’ve heard them called zeps, subs, heroes, webbers, submarine sandwiches. tell me what the sandwich is generally called in your part of the world. * * * I’m pink therefore I’m Spam ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/2 "1999-12-29T19:27:00Z")
You also forgot Poorboy Iaround my part of the world it’s usually subs… * * * I didn’t _get_ anything… I had to pay $50 and pick up the garbage! ---
**Author:** ![JBENZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b77776/32.png) [@JBENZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBENZ)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/3 "1999-12-29T19:32:00Z")
Here in beautiful downtown Noo England we calls 'em Grinders. * * * JB Lex Non Favet Delicatorum Votis ---
**Author:** ![melanietarrant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@melanietarrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melanietarrant)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/4 "1999-12-29T19:36:00Z")
i never heard “poorboy” and i thought a grinder was a hoagie that was toasted until the cheese melted(yummy yum) * * * I’m pink therefore I’m Spam ---
**Author:** ![Globe-trotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cab0a1/32.png) [@Globe-trotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Globe-trotter)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/5 "1999-12-29T19:37:00Z")
We call them subs up here in Canuckland. * * * Some drink at the fountain of knowledge…others just gargle. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/6 "1999-12-29T19:44:00Z")
Hey, Melanie, what suburb ya from? I’m a Penn Valley girl, my Mom lives in Bryn Mawr now. Do you get weird looks when you ask for “water ice,” too? ---
**Author:** ![melanietarrant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@melanietarrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melanietarrant)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/7 "1999-12-29T19:52:00Z")
at the moment i’m in pottstown, but i grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere the nearest town(Boyertown) was 15 miles away * * * I’m pink therefore I’m Spam ---
**Author:** ![fuzzy-wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b38774/32.png) [@fuzzy-wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzy-wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/8 "1999-12-29T19:54:00Z")
In the south we call them subs… ---
**Author:** ![Kiki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kiki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiki)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/9 "1999-12-29T19:58:00Z")
In Kansas we call them Subs and/or hoagies. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/10 "1999-12-29T19:59:00Z")
Here in upstate NY we call 'em subs. very rarely a hoagie. Zette * * * Love is like popsicles…you get too much you get too high. Not enough and you’re gonna die… [Click here for some GOOD news for a change](http://www.binghamtonpress.com/binghamtonnews/local/Sanews5.html)[Zettecity](http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/zettecity/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/11 "1999-12-29T20:00:00Z")
In this part of the Midwest (eastern Missouri),: Submarine= Generic term for any sandwich served on an oblong loaf of bread (sliced in half, natch). Resembles the shape of a submarine. Hoagie= Roasted beef, onions, & green peppers on a bun. Grinder= Submarine with strictly Italian (salami, bologna, etc.) meats & cheeses. Poor Boy= Some kind of stewed beef product on an oblong bun. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/12 "1999-12-29T20:02:00Z")
In AZ it was “subs” or “grinders” * * * – Teeming Millions: [http://fathom.org/teemingmillions](http://fathom.org/teemingmillions) “Meat flaps, yellow!” - DrainBead, naked co-ed Twister chat O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![Lucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/13 "1999-12-29T20:03:00Z")
In Chicago we call them subs, but I’ve also heard ‘poorboy’ and ‘hogie’ used here. A grinder is exactly as Melanietarrant said. Before I went veg, my favorite grinder was chicken breast bits cooked with onions, mushrooms and green pepper in teriyaki sauce, covered in mozzerella cheese and, of course, baked. * * * “I should not take bribes and Minister Bal Bahadur KC should not do so either. But if clerks take a bribe of Rs 50-60 after a hard day’s work, it is not an issue.” ----Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Current Prime Minister of Nepal ---
**Author:** ![dwtno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@dwtno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwtno)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/14 "1999-12-29T20:17:00Z")
Poorboys or po-boys are a uniquely New Orleans creation. The most common form of the sandwich is the roast beef po-boy: sliced roast beef piled on a crusty french bread loaf and slathered with gravy. Very messy. Very good. You can also get them dressed (lettuce, tomato and mayonaise) or undressed. Why the name? Because the original po-boys were a depression food. An entire meal in a sandwich - hence “poor boy.” In fact, the first po-boys were probably french-fried potato po-boys (potatos instead of roast beef, but plenty of roast beef gravy) - still a heavenly sandwich! These days, although roast beef is still a univeral favorite, fried oyster or fried shrimp po-boys are clear winners as well. Another point, po-boys are always served hot. This is not a cold sandwich. In my experience, hoagies, grinders and subs (etc.) are usually served cold. Any Dopers want to drop into my neck of the woods, I’ll see that you get a proper New Orleans po-boy! Everything else is just luncheon meat on bread… ---
**Author:** ![PurpleCrackwhore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc348/32.png) [@PurpleCrackwhore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleCrackwhore)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/15 "1999-12-29T20:34:00Z")
In Cali we call them subs… or Togo’s after the fast food chain that makes them. Some places tend to put weird stuff on them like sprouts. I hate that, which to me feels like I have hair in my food so I tell them… “Leave off the hair please!” That always tends to get me the odd look. * * * I really try to be good but it just isn’t in my nature! ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/16 "1999-12-29T20:39:00Z")
I always called 'em togos, after the local (ie, NOT the chain of the same name) sandwich shop. In fact, I was about 13 before I realized that “togo” wasn’t a universal name for 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/17 "1999-12-29T20:58:00Z")
They’re generally called Subs in Southern California, however, you increasingly find them listed on menus as “…on a fresh French roll”. We have a lot of Togo’s shops down here, but I’ve never heard of a sandwich being called that. I don’t know how a Subway can stay in business with a Togo’s in the same town. ---
**Author:** ![melanietarrant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@melanietarrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melanietarrant)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/18 "1999-12-29T21:06:00Z")
i never heard of Togo’s, but i’ve always thought subway made above average hoagies. * * * I’m pink therefore I’m Spam ---
**Author:** ![Sycorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Sycorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sycorax)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 1999, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/19 "1999-12-29T21:14:00Z")
D.C. area (considered the south, I guess) - sub or hoagie. ---
**Author:** ![J\_String](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@J\_String](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_String)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 1999, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354/20 "1999-12-30T01:00:00Z")
Around here (SE Missouri) they’re pretty much called subs, but at the restaurant where I used to work they were called gyros–mispronounced (I did say say SE Missouri) as GEER-ohs. Strange place, it was supposedly a Greek restaurant, but they also offered fried chicken, mojos, pizza, and beer. * * * It’s a long way to heaven, but only three short steps to hell. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-what-do-you-call-them/12354.md?page=2)