Post #4by Spaceman Spiff » 10.08.2005, 14:17
I haven't got time to check, but I think Bill Bryson did not come to an outright conclusion in "Made In America", but dismissed that usual suspect claims.
I might suggest* that maybe 'hot dog' was a corruption of the Danish name: rodp??lser. Danish pronunciation is awfully slurred, the 'r' is forced with an 'h' sound, there's a bit of a guttural stop after the 'l', and the '-ser' would be very muted. So, some Dane mumbling 'Hrod poel'sah' might have been misheard as 'hrod pod, sir' -> 'hot pod, sir', -> 'hot dog, sir'**.
Certainly, the Danish rodp??lser is much more like the US hot dog than the German Bratwurst mit Weck: a) soft roll, not hard and cripsy (like a Weck), b) heated in hot water, not grilled, c) served with ketchup, not mustard (which I think came later).
Spiff.
* This suggestion EULA is WITHOUT WARRANTY...
** OK, maybe not.