The sandwich is a universally loved item, with variations on the theme found throughout the world. What's also different are the nicknames people have for two slices of bread and a filling. Do you call your sandwich by a special name?
The sandwich was named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich who, legend has it, would order his meat tucked between two pieces of bread in order to keep his hands from getting greasy while playing cribbage. It's important to note that the Earl did not invent the sandwich, variations of which have been around for centuries in many cultures, but he does hold the honor of having them named after him since the 1770s.
Now, here's the next question: Is it a hoagie or a sub or a hero?
Related: What's Your State's Sandwich?
(Image: Tuscan Tuna-and-Bean Sandwich Romulo Yanes/Gourmet)
TW Salt Mill by Wil...

Ha ha, this is funny. My brother & I were on a long car trip a few days ago and we were laughing about how the Beatles used to talk about having a "chip butty" back when they were very Liverpudlian boys (and they were SO young when they first became famous).
I don't give nicknames to the things I eat. It only makes it harder when they die.
I call it a sandwich. Because that's what it is. People sound like brain-damaged 3rd graders when they say Sammie.
Ew do not lump sammich and sammie together. Sammie is from the "left her head in the oven for a bit too long" mind of Rachael Ray and almost her alone. I call it a sammich a lot when I'm going ot get one with friends or coworkers. OTher than that, it's a sandwich.
S A A M M M M I CH
@stevenpants: word. If I hear a person refer to a sandwich in that way I immediately judge them and know not to be friends with them. It says a lot about a person. I realize this says a lot about me too, but I'm ok with that.
@stevenpants: amen! no one over the age of 3 should be using that word.
I call them sandwiches, and though I live in a Spanish-speaking country, everyone here also calls them sandwiches. Otherwise, "emparedados" would be the "proper" Spanish term (about as neutral as can be), but if anybody here uses that term it just sounds pretentious. Go figure.
@stevenpants: Word x 2. Seriously. Whenever I hear "sammies/sammiches" it makes me grind my teeth. The British "sarnie" makes me smile, though; it reminds me of Sherlock...
I can them sandwiches, but my father calls them "sandriches". It's more of his regional accent (Vermont) than a different name for them. His mother is worse and has other names in the same fashion for other things - both foods and non-foods.
Sandwiches. It really bugs me when anyone calls them something different. Sammich, I'll accept. But if I heard someone calling them a sando or a sanger...
Yeah, I agree with the rest. "Sammie" is definitely Rachael Ray's dummification of a perfectly pronounceable word.
I'm English and I've never heard the term 'sammie' before. I say sandwich or butty, and if it's bacon or chips, it's ALWAYS a 'butty'. I now live in the East Midlands and most people here say 'cob'.
"Sammie" is a repulsive Rachel Ray word - why is it in the same category as "Sammich"? They are two different words!
Really? Is this a thing now? I've never heard anyone call it anything outside of a sandwich. The only other names I could possibly think of aren't even on the list: hoagie, grinder, sub. But those are specific types of sandwiches.
Wow. I'm kind of amazed by the incredibly dismissive, snobby judgement from some folks here. I feel like I was to start calling them sammies, if only to annoy people. Go ahead and think of me as a child. I'd rather be considered silly and childish, than thought of as a stuffy fuddydud. Honestly, what's it to you? Different strokes for different folks, right?
That all said, I tend to call them sarnies or butties. I'm married to an English guy who calls them that. He's the person I make them for, so that's what they're called.
Occasionally, my husband will use the word "sangwich", but only as an inside joke, referring to a typo we saw on a menu in Egypt.
"sando" has taken over san francisco and i HATE it.
i used to have a boss that called them sangwiches, and i just wanted to knock him out. haha.
it's kind of equally as annoying to me as when people say EVOO, which i think it way more acceptable. but just say the real words.
My sister insists that my Chicago accent makes me say 'samwhich', and I vehemently disagree, so when I talk to her I call it a 'sand-whee-che' -- overly enunciating each syllable in an English accent.
It's funny how people are appalled by "sammie", but "sammich" is ok. I don't see the difference. They are both made up words for a sandwich.
@loladanger - Yes. I'm with you on this one.
I'm sorry, but as far as I understood, a "Sanger" is an Australian term for a sausage! My 18 month old asks for a "sammo" when she wants a sandwich, and I fully expect that given time, her language will evolve and it'll become "sammich" and then progress onto sandwich. I don't mind the word sammich, it sounds like the actual word, just spoken quickly.
I don't understand the point of making a new word for something, unless it involves less syllables than the original word... Sandwich isn't exactly difficult to say, unless of course, you're about 18 months old, and still getting to grips with it all!
@alice.radley: and I'd rather be thought of as a "stuffy fuddydud" for expecting other adults to fully pronounce a pretty simple word than to go around using a childish substitute and expecting other adults to know what the hell I'm talking about.
Also lol at people who think "sammich" is somehow less weird than "sammie."
Butties all the way, but especially when referring to sausage/bacon/chip sandwiches.
In my family, a sandwich with all the trimmings is a "fat sammich" but one that is minus a garden fresh tomato is only a "pseudo fat".
@JESS13 Some people might feel the same way at anyone who writes "lol" in the middle of a sentence. Some might find "lol" to be childish, when surely saying that you "laugh at" or are "laughing out loud" at something. Some folks might expect you to be a little more consistent. I don't. I like the wonderful richness and wide variety of the English language. Use it all! Enjoy it!
I call them sandwiches because the Earl of Sandwich deserves that much respect. Hey, he did more good by creating the sandwich than most of the silly aristocracy of Europe ever did.
The only time you can vary is when you are making a particular kind of sandwich (e.g. a very large stacked sandwich is a "Dagwood.")
sangüiche, of course. occasionally sangüichito.
"sammich" all the way!! its what my mom calls them when we go on picnics... it makes them seem more fun!
I usually call it a sandwich, but I have on occasion referred to it as a sammy. I had no idea that it was a rachel ray thing. I've been saying that since before she ever made an appearance on television. Some of y'all are pretty ridiculous.
I hate when people call it a sammich. I don't get why people call it that. I lump it in there with people using the word bra instead of bro.
"sangwich"
I like food nicknames. They are fun. Jeez, lighten up you guys. Buzz kills.
@rareflower, @ thehb: Amen!
Occasionally call it a sammie without ever having watched Rachael Ray. Heard it somewhere and thought it was amusing. It doesn't make me an idiot and it certainly doesn't make me sound like a brain damaged 3rd grader.
I hope you haters aren't teachers or parents.