The Grinder arose in
New England and was likely named after the dockworkers whose jobs
involved much noisy grinding to repair and refurbish the ships.
However, some attribute the name to the amount of chewing and
grinding it takes to work through the crusty Italian bread and tough
meats on the typical sandwich.
The Hero can contain an infinite number of combinations of meats,
cheeses, condiments, vegetables and pickled things. Many believe the
Hero Sandwich was named by food columnist, Clementine Paddleworth in
the 1930s relating to the Submarine sandwich, when she noted, “You
had to be a hero to eat it.” The Oxford English Dictionary credits
the naming to armored car guards.
Hoagie is what the folks in Philadelphia call it. Most claim that
the name came originally from Al De Palma who thought that a person
“had to be a hog” to eat such a large sandwich. When he opened his
own sandwich place during the Great Depression, Al called his big
subs 'hoggies'. It is assumed that the strong Philadelphia accent
changed the pronunciation, and eventually, the spelling.
The Submarine sandwich originated in several different Italian
American communities in the Northeastern United States from the late
19th century. So, all Grinders, Heros, Hoagies, and
many other regional names for these great sandwiches are Subs and
all Subs are sandwiches, but not all sandwiches are Subs.