What's The Difference Between A Hero, Sub, Grinder, And Hoagie?

Skip to main contentApp IconGet ourApp

• Dining Out
• At Home
• Culture
• Travel

App IconAppThe homepageEaterEater logoCurrent eater city: Eater.comNavigation DrawercloseCloseSearch

• MapMaps
• VideoWatch
• App

• Restaurant News
• Maps and Guides
• At Home
• Culture
• Travel
• Newsletters
• ShopExpand
  • Editors’ Picks
  • BooksExternal Link
  • TablewareExternal Link
  • CookwareExternal Link
  • MerchExternal Link
  • Wine ClubExternal Link
• PunchExternal Link
• ThrillistExternal Link
• Gastropod
• All Coverage

Visit another Eater city siteAtlantaAustinBostonCarolinasChicagoDallasDenverDetroitHoustonLas VegasLos AngelesMiamiNashvilleNew OrleansNew YorkPhiladelphiaPhoenixPortland, ORSan DiegoSan FranciscoSeattleTwin CitiesWashington, D.C.Eater.com

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Youtube
• RSS

EaterEater logoWhat’s the Difference Between a Hero, Sub, Grinder, and Hoagie?

• What's the Difference?

What’s the Difference Between a Hero, Sub, Grinder, and Hoagie?

It all depends on where you live

by Brette WarshawSep 15, 2019, 9:00 PM UTC

• Facebook
• Link

Brette Warshaw is an editor at Apple News and has worked at publications such as Lucky Peach and Food52. Her book “What’s the Difference?: Recreational Culinary Reference for the Curious and Confused” was released in 2021.

This post originally appeared in an edition of What’s the Difference?, a weekly newsletter for the curious and confused by New York City writer Brette Warshaw. Eater will be publishing all editions that parse food-related differences, though those hardly scratch the surface of the world’s (and the newsletter’s) curiosities: Sign up to get What’s the Difference? in your inbox or catch up on the full archive.

What’s the difference between...

A Hero, Sub, Grinder, and Hoagie?

Some things in life are simple: we know that two pieces of bread with stuff between them, for example, is a sandwich. Swap in a long roll, however, and things get a lot more complicated.

Let’s start with the submarine, or sub. A sub is at least six inches long and is constructed with a combination of meat, cheese, fixings (lettuce, tomato, etc.), and dressing. It is usually served cold. According to Google Trends, the word “sub” is by far and away the most commonly used of today’s four large-sandwich terms. You can see this in the graph below:

Looking at the regional breakdown, “sub” is also clearly the winner — except for one, lonesome state.

Pennsylvania — what is going on??

Pennsylvanians — Philadelphians, in particular — have their “hoagies.” A hoagie is just a sub — the Oxford English Dictionary literally defines it as a “submarine sandwich” — but the Pennsylvania folk have insisted on making it their own. According to Bon Appétit, the term likely comes from Depression-era jazz musician and sandwich-shop owner Al De Palma, who started calling his submarines “hoggies” because you “had to be a hog” to eat a sandwich that big. (So judgy!) “Hoggies” somehow morphed into “hoagies,” and you got yourself a regional sandwich term.

Head over to New York City, and you’ll see a similar sandwich referred to as a “hero.” The term likely comes from New York Herald Tribune columnist Clementine Paddleworth (yes, that was her name), who in 1936 described a sandwich so large “you had to be a hero to eat it.” More so than a sub, a hero can refer to both hot and cold sandwiches, which is why you’ll see things like meatball heroes and chicken-parm heroes on menus around the area.

Lastly, we have grinders, which is the New England–based term for a hero. According to Bon Appétit, “some claim that it was named for ‘grinders,’ Italian-American slang for dockworkers (who were often sanding and grinding rusty hulls to repaint them),” but the term most likely comes from the fact that they were harder to chew than normal sandwiches: “that toothsomeness got translated into ‘grinder,’ since that’s what your teeth had to do to get through a bite.”

• What’s the Difference Between a Hero, Sub, Grinder, and Hoagie? [wtd]

Eater Today

The freshest news from the food world every day

Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.See More:

• What's the Difference?

Most Popular

1. 10 of the Toughest Tables to Reserve in Miami
2. 10 of the Toughest Tables to Reserve in NYC
3. Inside Sun Noodle, the Secret Weapon of America's Best Ramen Shops
4. Where to Eat in 2026
5. Book a Valentine’s Day Reservation at These Romantic Las Vegas Restaurants

Eater Today

The freshest news from the food world every day

Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content From

This is the title for the native ad

More in What's the Difference?

What’s the Difference Between Free-Range, Cage-Free, and Pasture-Raised Eggs?What’s the Difference Between Soy Sauce, Shoyu, and Tamari?What’s the Difference Between Crudo, Sashimi, Tartare, and Carpaccio?What’s the Difference Between Mozzarella, Burrata, and Straciatella?What’s the Difference Between Shrimp and Prawns?What’s the Difference Between Lox, Nova, and Smoked Salmon?What's the Difference?Apr 7, 2025What's the Difference?Apr 7, 2025What’s the Difference Between Free-Range, Cage-Free, and Pasture-Raised Eggs?

Egg cartons can be surprisingly confusing

By Brette WarshawWhat's the Difference?Sep 15, 2019What's the Difference?Sep 15, 2019What’s the Difference Between Soy Sauce, Shoyu, and Tamari?

And how to tell the good-quality versions from the bad

By Brette WarshawWhat's the Difference?Sep 15, 2019What's the Difference?Sep 15, 2019What’s the Difference Between Crudo, Sashimi, Tartare, and Carpaccio?

There are so many ways to serve raw seafood and meat

By Brette WarshawWhat's the Difference?Sep 15, 2019What's the Difference?Sep 15, 2019What’s the Difference Between Mozzarella, Burrata, and Straciatella?

And which one should you put in your caprese salad?

By Brette WarshawWhat's the Difference?Sep 15, 2019What's the Difference?Sep 15, 2019What’s the Difference Between Shrimp and Prawns?

No, shrimp are not just smaller prawns

By Brette WarshawWhat's the Difference?Sep 15, 2019What's the Difference?Sep 15, 2019What’s the Difference Between Lox, Nova, and Smoked Salmon?

The fish you enjoy on your bagel is probably not lox

By Brette WarshawAdvertiser Content From

This is the title for the native ad

The Latest

Feb 13We Asked: How Do You Run a Restaurant With Your Partner?Feb 13Meet the ‘It’ Candle of NYC Restaurant BathroomsFeb 1129 Valentine’s Day Gifts for Every Type of Food LoverFeb 11We Turned Our Home Into One of LA’s Buzziest Coffee ShopsFeb 9What I Did When Everything Went Wrong on Opening DayFeb 6The Newest ‘Third Spaces’? Restaurants and Bars That Feel Like a Living Room