Wiener or Hot dog?
Posted by notagirlnotyetwoman@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 79 comments
I’ve often heard wieners being used to describe the sausage itself, but I recently came across some Americans who only call it a hot dog. Then I checked Wikipedia and social media, and saw people saying the proper term for the sausage is actually wiener.
I know wiener and frankfurter originally refer to specific German sausage types, but I’ve still heard people use wiener for regular hot dog sausages too.
So what do you personally call the sausage by itself?
cat_prophecy@reddit
It's all colloquial.
Where I live a sausage is strictly a specific type like kielbasa. But sausage also means breakfast sausage (links or patties) so context is important. Bratwurst are strictly "brats". You'd never call a brat a sausage or a hot dog.
Hot dogs are the stereotypical soft, no skin tubular meat. Weiners are the "old fashioned" hot dogs that have a snappy skin.
MarmosetRevolution@reddit
Tube Steaks.
Maleficent-Hawk-318@reddit
Hot dog or sausage, depending on the specific type (hot dogs are sausages, but also are a specific type of sausage that is common in the US; for example, I would not call a bratwurst a hot dog).
Wiener is not a term used much where I grew up (southwestern US, though my parents are from Chicago).
Mayor_of_BBQ@reddit
The term you’re looking for is “emulsified sausage“
That’s where the meat, fat, seasonings are ground into an emulsified paste before they are casted and cooked into a homogenous tube
Something like a bratwurst has a coarser texture. They are still individually identifiable chunks of meat and fat throughout the sausage.
King_Ralph1@reddit
No one walks into the store and asks “where do you keep the emulsified sausages?” We’re asking where to find the hot dogs (maybe wieners, but usually not.
Maleficent-Hawk-318@reddit
No, I'm definitely not looking for that term. I'm over here communicating like a normal human being; imagine being like "can you pick up a pack of emulsified sausages while you're out?"
GladChef1206@reddit
that sounds like a farce ;)
Bluemonogi@reddit
A hot dog.
Timsonfire1@reddit
Wiener if I'm being a jackass Hot dog if I'm at an unfamiliar barbeque.
somecow@reddit
Ha lol you said wiener.
JoshuaSuhaimi@reddit
and in other situations?
iPoopandiDab@reddit
All other situations call for jackassery
guy_icognit0@reddit
Weiner means penis 100% of the time
DOMSdeluise@reddit
unless there is going to be some ambiguity about what I am referring to, I call it a hot dog
shibby3388@reddit
And I’m over here scarfing down half smokes.
throwtruerateme@reddit
My grandparents who were born in the 1920s earnestly called them weiners or weinies. We would all giggle whenever they said it.
Odd_Mathematician654@reddit
I grew up calling them weiner but by 15 or so I think it became more normal to use hotdog. That would have been the late 70s. The Oscar Meyer Weiner song was well known by all of my classmates.
Lopsided-Letter1353@reddit
Hot dog.
Except when I’m actually buying them, then I’m softly singing about Oscar Meyer Wieners.
That marketing really did the trick back in the day. Never forgot the jingle.
pgcotype@reddit
"Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner/That is what I'd truly like to be..."
tom_the_bikeman@reddit
B O L O G N A
ElectricTurtlez@reddit
Original commercial for those too young to remember it!
OfficeChair70@reddit
I’m too young to remember the ad, but I sure know the song because my parents and grandparents still reference it.
mooshinformation@reddit
I've only ever heard weiner used as a joke. 8 year olds have changed it's meaning. But I would take it to mean any hotdog ( if it were clear we were talking about food).
IthurielSpear@reddit
Not just 8 year olds. I’m Gen X and a wiener refers to a body part for us too
mooshinformation@reddit
I meant 8 year olds through history, not just current ones
The_Nood1e@reddit
Massive dong, normally.
BroughtBagLunchSmart@reddit
Wiener is reserved for Dachsunds and when[ my damn wiener kids are listening.]()
CaptainAwesome06@reddit
Weiner is also slang for a penis so most people will just call it a hotdog. For the type of sausage that is ground meat in a casing, we'll call it a sausage. Or we'll be more specific, like bratwurst.
This isn't universal but probably as close you're going to get.
Average_Potato42@reddit
What isn't slang for penis?
jkmhawk@reddit
"What" isn't slang for penis.
WhatABeautifulMess@reddit
it is in the song Dick in a Box
CheeseMongoNJ@reddit
It's a hot dog except in VERY specific situations like a Texas weiner, which is actually a Jersey thing.......
fleetiebelle@reddit
Apologies to the people of Vienna, but the name of their sausages is only used as a joke term or an insult.
swishkabobbin@reddit
Wieners are the male form
wvtarheel@reddit
It's called a hot dog all over Ohio and West Virginia. First place I saw it called a wiener was Fredericksburg maryland
Imaginary_Ladder_917@reddit
Hot dog, unless referring to the Midwest event in which a bunch of people get together and roast hot dogs over a fire, and to which people also bring a bunch of good food for potluck sides. That’s a wiener roast, at which they roast hot dogs and also brats.
Comfortable-Dish1236@reddit
Hot dog- 98% of the time.
Wiener- 1%, if camping and having a weenie roast around the campfire.
Frankfurter- 1%, if referencing franks and beans.
But yeah, it’s basically hot dogs. And it seems like “red hots” has completely died out. Old movies and TV shows used to show vendors with hot dog carts shouting “Red hits! Get yer red hots here!”
PlanMagnet38@reddit
Hot dog unless it’s specifically a bratwurst or some other “specialty” sausage.
river-running@reddit
I've never used wiener unless I was trying to be funny in a juvenile way or discussing a certain disgraced politician. Don't even talk to me about the word 'glizzy'.
TillPsychological351@reddit
Hot dog.
Real Wiener sausages are a bit different from American hot dogs anyway.
ChaChiBaio@reddit
Dicks
hbi2k@reddit
"Wiener" is commonly used by young children as a slang term for penis. I almost never hear it used to refer to food.
loweexclamationpoint@reddit
It's not just for young children. Also, "weinie" derives from weiner
Lovebeingadad54321@reddit
58 years old, can confirm not JUST children….
CubicleHermit@reddit
Obligatory South Park https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csOcHCDmMdE
moosieq@reddit
I don't think I've ever distinguished between wieners and frankfurters. There's technically some kind of distinction between the sausages, and it's on the packaging, but to me they're all just hot dogs.
Something like a bratwurst, kielbasa, or some other "fancier" sausage gets more specific but I'm not really sure why.
Ok_Gas5386@reddit
If Vienna had been partitioned like Berlin after WW2 then JFK might have said “ich bin ein Wiener” which would have been funny
bansheesho@reddit
If we are talking a hot dog specifically, I'd say the main way is hot dog, but I also like to change it up and throw in a wiener or glizzy in there too to keep people on their toes.
If we are talking a sausage, like a bratwurst for example, I'd just call that whatever it is like a brat. I'm more likely to call German style sausage a wiener though.
kactus-cuddles@reddit
Wiener is an immature way of saying penis here, so people avoid saying it unless they are children making a dirty joke
InsertDramaHere@reddit
Hot dog.
donuttrackme@reddit
Wiener, Frankfurter, and Hot Dog all refer the the same style of sausage. Most of the time I'll just say hot dog, but occasionally I'll say weiner, and even more rarely I'll say Frankfurter.
But sometimes it also depends on the brand and what it calls the sausages themselves. Packages of sausages that are called weiners or Frankfurters are usually higher quality than packages that just say hot dog.
KingSlareXIV@reddit
It's only a weiner if it comes from the ~~Weiner~~ Oscar Meyer region of the US.
_fenwoods@reddit
I typically called the sausage itself a hot dog.
PineappleFit317@reddit
Yes, it’s name is derived from Vienna, so the term is “wiener”, but wiener is also a juvenile slang term for penis, so a lot of people prefer calling it a hotdog, even if it isn’t the complete package of a wiener in a bun with the preferred condiments, out of politeness or not wanting to seem crass.
DickDongMcLong@reddit
Braut
MostAsk855@reddit
Dog, hotdog, wiener, and frank are all interchangeable and you are standing in line at a grill. If you say any of those, people will know what you are talking about.
ToraAku@reddit
Hot dog only. I'm curious which region maybe uses "weiner" as much or more than "hot dog" because I have a strong preference against "weiner". I also wonder if I'm just uninformed because I haven't been to a barbeque or bothered to eat a hot dog in years.
To me, "weiner" sounds obnoxious like someone trying to be cheeky since it's also slang for penis. But also sounds immature because most people don't actually call penises weiners.
Weiner dogs are also an animal (dachshunds) but I expect that to be obvious in context.
Afaik hot dogs and franks (frankfurters) are actually two slightly different things. And I'd also be careful not to call any other type of sausage a hot dog. Bratwurst, kielbasa, italian sausage are each their own thing even tho they are all cooked on a grill and are sausage and I would be careful to refer to them by name. I wouldn't just blanket call them "weiners". If I was unsure what I was looking at the only term I'd defer to is "sausage".
East coast US.
KamtzaBarKamtza@reddit
The last time I asked a guy for a wiener I was unpleasantly surprised by what happened next
Lovebeingadad54321@reddit
He gave you an Oscar Meyer Hot Dog? You must have been terribly disappointed….
TooManyDraculas@reddit
Hot dog is the name if the sausage.
They are based on/descended from weiners and frankfurters. So we often use those terms as well.
That's why there are distinct pages for each of those sausages.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_W%C3%BCrstchen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_sausage
PabloPicasshooole@reddit
Wienis
loweexclamationpoint@reddit
In Chicago, hot dog is used for both the sausage and the prepared dish (prepared in a very specific way but that's a nuther story.) The dish is often shortened to dog.
Lovebeingadad54321@reddit
Weiner is often a slang term for penis in the USA, so I believe most people use the term “Hot Dog” when referring to the food item.
Realk314@reddit
I've always called it just a hot dog (in Texas) unless I buy a brat or specific sausage like the label an Italian sausage. etc. Some of the packing for regular hot dogs do use the word weiner on them at my local grocery.
Joseph_of_the_North@reddit
Weiner for the sausage itself. Hot dog if the sausage is in a bun.
Bennythecat415@reddit
Im 59 years old and I dont think ive ever heard someone say, "ill take one weiner please". West coast US
EpicBlinkstrike187@reddit
I think the vast majority of people know hot dogs can be called wieners. There’s also a fairly large regional hot dog fast food chain called Wienerschnitzel.
But nobody is using the term unless they’re joking with ya.
InvestigatorJaded261@reddit
Hot dog.
wieldymouse@reddit
Hot dog
teriKatty@reddit
Hot dog
Bcatfan08@reddit
Wiener to be funny. Hot dog in all other situations.
Ok-Measurement3882@reddit
I call it a hot dog. My wife calls it a wiener. And giggles as she does it.
tdubz1337@reddit
Glizzy
No_Cartographer5955@reddit
I call it a hot dog. I know it’s a type of sausage, but I wouldn’t use the word sausage for it as that is reserved for other types of sausages. I wouldn’t use the word wiener either, though I have heard them called that occasionally, mostly in movies.
StillC5sdad@reddit
Meat Tube
Mental_Freedom_1648@reddit
Hot dog. Wiener pretty firmly means penis, at this point, to me. It would sound weird to use it (for food or the body part). Although wiener dog, as in dachshund, sounds okay.
Wolfsburg78@reddit
Hot dog. Only time we call it a wiener around here is if its on a steamed bun with onions, mustard, meat sauce, and celery salt.
PGHRealEstateLawyer@reddit
Hotdog for me. Rare to use the phrase wiener though it’s not unheard of.
Ma6s_@reddit
hot dog