Whether a hot dog is a sandwich or not is an age-old debate. Everyone from actors like Meryl Streep and David Schwimmer to athletes like J.J. Watt has weighed in on the matter. Even the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg shared her opinion.
Merriam-Webster, one of the most well-known reference centers, says a hot dog is a sandwich. However, The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council gives a dozen reasons why this isn’t the case.
So what is the deal?
What makes a sandwich a sandwich?
Some individuals, like Steven Colbert on CNN, say a sandwich is two pieces of bread with any sort of filling in between. Others say that the pieces of bread have to be connected, while some say it doesn’t matter if they are separate or together.
Bader Ginsburg claims that a sandwich could even be classified as one piece of bread “covered with food.”
What does that make a hot dog, then?
If a hot dog isn’t placed in the category of sandwiches, where does it belong? Better Homes & Gardens claims it deserves its own classification.
“A hot dog is its own thing, a cylindrical-shaped protein that sits in a bun, and not a sandwich,” the article quotes. “[It] certainly deserves its own category, the same way a burger deserves its own. Sandwiches have their own category as well, and that category does not include hot dogs or burgers.”
Is a wrap a sandwich?
When looking at a menu, chances are wraps will be listed under the ‘sandwiches’ section. However, if a hot dog deserves its own category, why shouldn’t a wrap?
At this rate, though, who is to say what is categorized as what? Is a burrito a sandwich? What about two pieces of pizza stacked on top of each other? Or a folded piece of pizza? What about something like a Hot Pocket where there are two main sides of dough with a filling in the middle? And is an ice cream sandwich a sandwich? Or does it fail to meet the bread requirement?
It seems that the questions and loopholes will continue until someone with a high enough level of authority answers them. Many people place dictionaries at such standards, but Merriam-Webster gave an answer to the question that some still do not believe to be true.
Therefore, the question of whether a hot dog is a sandwich remains an objective decision.