Larry in Irvington, New York, is curious about local names for what’s sometimes called a submarine sandwich, which consists of a long bread roll split lengthwise and stuffed with meats, cheese, and other condiments. Larry grew up calling it a hero, but in Pennsylvania, it’s called a hoagie, and a similar version there has been called a zeppelin or zep. In New England, it’s called a grinder, and in upstate New York, this sandwich was once commonly called a torpedo or torp. In Wisconsin, it’s a garibaldi. In Louisiana, a similar sandwich that’s often filled with shrimp or catfish is called a po’ boy or poor boy. A Boston version has been called a spuckie or spukie from Italian for “long roll,” spucadella. In Cincinnati, this sandwich was long referred to as a rocket. A South African version is called a gatsby. This is part of a complete episode.
In Hong Kong English, Add oil! means something like “Go on!” or “Go for it!” A recent addition to the Oxford English Dictionary, this expression of encouragement comes from Cantonese (加油 or gā yáu; rendered as jiāyóu from Mandarin) and draws on the...
A Green Bay Packers fan wonders why a quarterback who’s tackled is said to be sacked. The roots of the word sack as in “bag” goes back thousands of years, all the way to Akkadian, later spreading through Greek, Latin, and then to Romance and...
