Don’t we all like a good sandwich? Must be the case, because articles on the fine art of building a sandwich keep showing up.

I want to talk about it, too. But not just the typical two-slices-of-bread type sandwich. I’m talkin’ the sub, hoagie, hero, grinder, spuckie, po' boy, wedge. Whatever you call it, they’re the BEST and they’re perfect for so many occasions.

But first, why all the names, and where did they come from? Well, back before big brands took over, there was room for every American city to come up with its own name for a full-loaf sandwich filled with cold cuts, and most areas with large Italian immigrant populations did just that.

The names' origins are pretty basic, and do make sense. So read on for some fun information to know and tell at your next sandwich feast:

SUB. An abbreviation of "submarine sandwich," subs are called "subs" because they look like submarines. Simple as that.

GRINDER. These are most common in New England. “Grinders," Italian-American slang for dockworkers (who were often sanding and grinding rusty ship hulls for repainting), was the nickname given to certain sub sandwiches made on hard-to-chew long rolls. The name resulted from all grinding the teeth had to do to get through a bite.

HERO. Native to New York, the hero's journey began with the wonderfully named Clementine Paddleworth, a food columnist for the New York Herald Tribune in 1936. It’s said she coined the word in one of her columns after having eaten a gigantic foot-long sub (or grinder). She said the sandwich was so large "you had to be a hero to eat it."

HOAGIE. This is the home-grown Philadelphia term for the big Italian sandwich. Its origin goes back to a jazz musician turned sandwich shop owner named Al De Palma. In the late '20s, he saw some fellow jazz-lovers eating a sub, and commented to himself that you "had to be a hog" to eat a sandwich that big. So, when he opened a sub shop during the Depression, he started calling his big sandwiches "hoggies," and eventually opened chains across the city. As for why "hoggie" turned to "hoagie," the best explanation out there is probably the Philadelphia accent itself. Ever heard those guys talk?

PO’ BOYS. This one is from New Orleans. Its original name was “poor boy,” but poor enunciation creeps in over time and “po’ boy” is what we have today. This history on this name started with a streetcar strike. In the summer of 1929, 1,100 New Orleans streetcar conductors and motormen went on strike. Strikebreakers were sent in to bust picket lines and scab on the trolleys. Shortly after, a crowd of 10,000 New Orleanians gathered downtown to cheer on strikers as they burned the first scab-operated streetcar.

Two brothers, Bennie and Clovis Martin, Louisianians and former streetcar mechanics, sent a letter of support to the union pledging free meals to union members and their support "till hell freezes over." They followed by giving out large sandwiches to any strikers that came by their sandwich shop, commenting to each other "here comes another poor boy" whenever one walked through the door. As with the hoagie, the po’boy name then spread through the city and it stuck.

I’ll top off this fun information with a terrific sandwich tip. It works with all the above. Split your baguette in half, lengthwise, and scoop out some bread down the entire length of each bread half. You want a trough in each half.

Then shred some lettuce, dice up tomatoes and onions, and chop some banana peppers. Toss all this together in a bowl and mix in some sliced black olives. Lastly, fold in your favorite dressing. I like Ranch, my husband likes chunky blue cheese. Or go for a vinaigrette—you choose.

Once mixed, you then spoon this “sandwich salad” into the bread troughs. Top that off with sliced meats and cheeses. Holy cow—talk about delicious. THIS is the way to build a sandwich!

    Alice Osborne
    DVO Newsletter Contributor since 2006
    Email the author! alice@dvo.com