Food, indeed, is part of culture but the recent US hot dog controversy is overdone

Frankly, dictionaries are not the last word on, well, words. After all, words have deep emotional significances that go beyond their obvious attributes that contribute to their definitions. Thus, the social media uproar over the Merriam-Webster dictionary’s definition of a hot dog as a sandwich this week truly highlights this inherent shortcoming, as many Americans have stubbornly and indignantly asserted after the classification that wieners in split buns are not so, despite apparent similarities.

This echoes a rather overwrought official statement last year from the US’ National Hot Dog and Sausage Council that it is not a sandwich but "an exclamation of joy, a food, a verb describing one 'showing off' and even an emoji. It is truly a category unto its own."

With the heat rising on this matter, other cultures’ contributions to the great American snack pantheon — gyros, tacos, quesadillas, even vada-pav — may be pulled into the debate. So, a call to action may not be a bad thing, as the parameters of sandwiches should be firmly established considering the potential for bowdlerization.

Do only breads deemed as such by the west qualify or do other fluffy dough casings fit the bill — or fill — too? Are slices mandatory or will splits do? And are all fillings — single, double, meat, vegetarian, of mixed identity — equally valid?