Hi this is Tutor Nick P and this is Word Origins 31. The word origin today is
sandwich. You know the simple sandwich that we eat all the time. All right. Let's
take a look at the note here. The origin of the word sandwich comes from the 4th
Earl of Sandwich. So he was actually an earl and the place that he was an earl
of was actually named sandwich. So this is what ends up leading to it. John
Montagu. So his name was John Montagu. So his name wasn't actually sandwich. His
name was John Montagu, but he was the Earl of Sandwich. Okay. He was an aristocrat.
You know especially in former times. Somebody from the elite class. Possibly
somebody from nobility. He probably was from nobility because he was an earl.
Usually they have titles like that. During the 18th century and he used to
like to play card games. You know, probably gambling , gambling card games.
You know , like a lot of aristocrats used to like to do that in former times. He
used to ask his valet to bring him beef between two slices of bread. So you know,
basically type of servant. He preferred to eat this meal while playing cards. Okay.
The bread kept his hands from getting greasy. So that was around the time
where you know you might have eaten meat just directly with your hands. So of
course, he liked it between two slices of bread, so his hands could stay clean
while he was playing cards So this is where it came from.
He didn't want to get grease on the cards. Well. That's the main thing
because of course if he if he got grease on his hands grease would have been on
the cards and probably you know whoever he was playing cards with wouldn't like
that. That's a way that to sometimes mark cards too. If you put spots on them. So
that wouldn't have been good. So he didn't do that. He used the bread , so that his
hands could stay clean. Okay. Good. All right. Let's continue. All right. Yeah. His
friends who he played car with began asking for the meal. They thought that
looks good. That's a good idea. You know, why not ? I think I'll try the same thing.
That happens sometimes. Even in our modern times. They would say we will have
the same sandwich. Maybe they referred to him as sandwich because he was the Earl
of Sandwich. This caught on you know, to catch on means
to become very popular and eventually led to the creation of the word sandwich.
So this is really where it came from. It came from this aristocrat. You know , in
the 18th century that liked to play card games and he only did this to keep his
hands clean, so we wouldn't get a lot of grease on his hands. Anyway I hope you
got it. I hope it's clear. Thank you for your time. Bye-bye.