sandwich

[winnits15]

who is the sandwich named after

[B00]

The sandwich was named after 4th Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century English aristocrat, although it is unlikely to have been invented by him. Indeed a form of sandwich is attributed to the ancient Jewish sage Hillel the Elder, who is said to have put meat from the Paschal lamb and bitter herbs inside matzo (or flat bread) during Passover.

It is said that Lord Sandwich was fond of this form of food because it allowed him to continue playing cards at cribbage while eating without getting his cards sticky, from eating meat with his bare hands. The Earldom refers to the English town of Sandwich in Kent � from the Old English Sandwic, meaning "sand place".


Taken from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwich#Origin

[Octavius]

If you were stranded on a desert island, what would you eat? .........The sand which is there.

As B00 has put so eloquently, there is a story that he was an enthusiastic gambler and when he didn't wish to leave the gaming table - or possibly just his desk - to go to dinner he would ask for someone to bring him some meat between a couple of slices of bread. Later, when others began asking for the same thing, they would say something like, "I'll have what Sandwich is having..." Allegedly it caught on, and people just started calling for "a Sandwich" when they wanted meat between two slices of bread. The word sandwich is therefore an eponym - a word or phrase whose origin is a person or historical figure. Another example is the Achilles Heel, or the Adam�s Apple. Similarly to the above, The Sandwich Islands are also named after John Montagu (4th Earl of Sandwich) as was the patron to James Cooke who ventured to the Islands.

By most accounts John Montagu didn't shrink from enjoying life. It's said that he was a corrupt, devil-worshiping sex fanatic who enjoyed gambling. My kinda guy!

[shammydodger]

So the bloke in the pub who told me it was named after The 3rd Earl of Bealty was pulling my leg?

[jno]

Lord Cheese and Pickle?

[Octavius]

Shammy, I suspect the bloke in the pub may have been confusing this with the 3rd Earl of Bagel.

Did he not tell you about Baron Baguette and Le comte de Almonde Croissant also?