John [a.k.a. trolley], Here’s what a few sources had to say on the subject:
OXFORD DICTIONARY OF SLANG by John Ayto
SARNIE (1961) From colloquial and northern pronunciation of
sandwich
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A DICTIONARY OF SLANG AND UNCONVENTIONAL ENGLISH by Eric Partridge (1989) edited by Paul Beale)
SARNIE: A sandwich: Probably originally Army, since the early 20th century; in later 20th century more generally colloquial. Cf. synonyms Australian
sammo,
sanger.
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THE NEW PARTRIDGE DICTIONARY OF SLANG AND UNCONVENTIONAL ENGLISH (2006) edited by Dalzell & Victor)
SARNIE; SANNIE noun UK 1961: A sandwich. [Reduced from an upper-crust pronunciation of ‘sandwich.’ In Glasgow a ‘sannie’ is preferred].
[[This would seem to answer Simon Beck's above question from days of yore]]
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CASSELL’S DICTIONARY OF SLANG by Jonathon Green
SARNIE noun (
also SARMY) [1960s and still in use]: A sandwich. [abbreviation]
SARNIE noun (
also SARNEY,
SARNY. A
sandwich. [abbreviation]
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OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY
SARNIE slang [Probably from
sarn-, representing colloquial or (northern dialect) pronunciation of initial element of
sandwich.
<1961 “SARNIES, sandwiches.”—A dictionary of slang and Unconventional English (Supplement) by Eric Partridge, page1259/1>
<1966 SARNEYS, ABNABS, sandwiches”—Lern Yerself Scouse by F. Shaw et al, page 39>
<1973 “Most people clamour for tea and SARNIES within an hour, but I'm funny where dope's concerned.”—The Observer (London), 22 April, page 27/5>
<1980 “Questions like the protein content of bacon butties . .. and the vitamin rating of corned beef SARNIES.”—The Times (London), 11 September, page 8/1>
<1994 “We all loved it. Nice big crumb tray and toasted SARNIE maker.”—The Independent (London), 2 January>
<2000 “Give that lunch-time SARNIE the elbow and try the healthy Japanese option instead. Sushi is low in fat, high in protein, . . .”—The Mirror (London), 4 January>
<2004 “Girl , 19 Killed by Her SARNIE. Pals see her collapse: . . . It is believed she suffered an allergic reaction to something in the sandwich.”—Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland), 29 April>
<2008 “The combination of big waves and tiny boat and diesel fumes and the skipper's enthusiastic munching of an aromatic bacon SARNIE, made my head spin like a classroom globe, and since then I've tried to avoid small sea-going craft.”—Yorkshire Post (U.K.), 1 April>
Interestingly enough, in a dictionary on the language of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, the veracity of which I can’t vouch for, I found the following morsel:
SARNIE = shingle.
Hmm!
The Hobbit was published in 1937 and the
Lord of the Rings in 1954-1955, and there is lots of other Tolkien stuff that predates the above 1961 quote. I’m no Tolkien expert, but it sure seems that if this dictionary is correct, there might be a connection between Tolkien’s ‘
SARNIE = shingle’ and the English dialect for ‘sandwich.’
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Ken – September 23, 2008
