Meaning & use
finger sandwich
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableBritish
A very small, neat sandwich eaten in one or two bites, usually served at parties or with tea.
Grammar: Countable, so use 'a finger sandwich' or 'finger sandwiches'; it takes a plural verb when plural.
Patterns
- a plate of finger sandwiches
- serve finger sandwiches
- finger sandwiches with something
They served finger sandwiches and tea at the garden party.
The caterer made finger sandwiches with cucumber and cream cheese.
Please cut the bread into small squares for finger sandwiches.
Word forms
| plural | finger sandwiches |
|---|
Common combinations
- a plate of finger sandwiches
- A plate of finger sandwiches was passed around the room.
- cucumber finger sandwiches
- Cucumber finger sandwiches are a classic at afternoon tea.
- serve finger sandwiches
- They served finger sandwiches before the main course.
- cut into finger sandwiches
- Cut the crusts off and slice the bread into finger sandwiches.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tea sandwich
- Very close in meaning; common in American English for the same small, crustless party sandwich.
- canapé
- Also small party food, but a canapé is an open-topped bite on bread or a cracker, not a closed sandwich.
Word family
- sandwich noun
- A general word for food made with two slices of bread and a filling.
Commonly confused: finger sandwich or sandwich finger?
finger sandwich vs sandwich finger
'Sandwich finger' is not a standard term; the fixed phrase is 'finger sandwich'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'finger sandwich' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Finger sandwich' is countable, so the plural 'finger sandwiches' takes a plural verb: 'the finger sandwiches were arranged.' Option B needs the plural form, and option D wrongly uses 'a' with a plural noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “finger sandwich”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.