Where "Sammo" Comes From
“Sammo” is Australian slang for a sandwich, made by shortening the word and adding the Aussie “-o” ending. Green’s Dictionary of Slang lists it as an abbreviation and tags it Aus./US, but all of its dated examples are Australian. It sits alongside “sanger”, “sanga” and “sango”.
The earliest dated use in Green’s is 1972, in A. Chipper’s Aussie Swearers Guide, which has a “Sammo (or Sango) Merchant”, a hearty eater of sandwiches. Canberra Times examples follow in 1988 (“three plates of sammos and as many cups of tea”), 1990 and 1995.
Source:
“Lunch was soup and sammos on the terrace.”
How Aussies Actually Use It
It is a casual word for any sandwich, and more often plural, as in “ham sammos” or “soup and sammos”. “Sanger” is the more famous Aussie word for the same thing. (“Sammo” is also a common Aussie nickname for people called Sam, which has its own place on our nicknames page.)
Say It Like an Aussie
Say it: SAM-oh.
In conversation:
- Lunch was soup and sammos.
- Who’s making the ham sammos?
- A few sammos and a cuppa will do.
Good to know: It’s one of a few short words for sandwich, along with “sanga”. Aussies often say it in the plural.
🎓 Want to sound like a true Aussie?
Watch Down Under English on YouTube for real Australian pronunciation, slang lessons, and culture.
Watch on YouTube →