Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich

Pro:

I have radical sandwich opinions. I see lasagna as a pasta Big Mac and fried chicken as a fried, totally enclosed chicken sandwich. But, however much you may disagree with these positions, a hot dog clearly fits any commonly accepted definition of a sandwich, namely that it is some type of food between some type of bread. Although the style of bread used and what fills it may be slightly unorthodox and outside the common concept of a “sandwich,” that should not disqualify the hot dog from being classified as such. A common argument is that the bread is cut differently than a traditional sandwich. An easy response to this is that a hot dog bun is cut in almost the exact same way as a sub and I have yet to meet a person who would not classify one of those as a sandwich. Another argument I’ve heard is that if someone invited you to go get sandwiches and took you to a hot dog restaurant, you would be surprised. This is fair, and probably accurate, but just because a hot dog does not come to mind immediately when one thinks of a sandwich, that does not mean that it should not be considered a sandwich. Overall, the definition of a sandwich is somewhat nebulous and if someone wants to make an argument that a hot dog does not qualify, they need to get a better definition of what exactly is and is not a sandwich.

Con:

What is the purpose of language? Why do we use words and not grunts? The reason is that words convey meaning; a short word can succinctly capture an entire concept. The purpose, then, of language is to help us understand and convey meaning. Words are thus only useful insofar as they help us to communicate with those around. Now, if I were to tell you that you and I were going to get sandwiches, and against your better judgement you agreed to spend one-on-one time with me and come, you would rightfully be surprised if I took the two of us to get hot dogs. Sure, a hot dog may meet some technical definition of a sandwich; but it is not what, in common parlance, we think of as such. If we continue to expand the definition of a sandwich, we will eventually be left with a world where any and everything is a sandwich, and the word ceases to have any meaning whatsoever. I do not want that world for either myself or my children, and thus to my dying breath I will shout from the rooftops the simple truth: a hot dog is not a sandwich.