'Dagwood' sandwich came after character

Chris asked whether the multilayered Dagwood sandwich was named after Dagwood in the comic strip Blondie or the other way around.

"I have been reading the Dagwood comic strip since the 1940s, and I can guarantee you that Dagwood came first and the sandwich name came second," minuteman posted on the Ask! blog. Dagwood's character in the classic strip has a fondness for ridiculously tall sandwiches with a bizarre assortment of fillings.

The Cartoon Research Library at Ohio State University concurs, as do a surprising number of dictionaries, indicating that the term has long been part of the language.

"A comic strip may have a lot of papers, and toys or dolls based on the characters may come and go, but the real mark of a cultural landmark is making a way into the dictionary," according to the 1981 book Blondie & Dagwood's America, provided by the library.

Here's your next challenge:

Why is a woodchuck called a woodchuck if it doesn't chuck wood? Or does it? - Duncan

You know the drill. Post your answers on the Ask! blog, blogs.Rocky Mountain News.com/denver/ask. While you're there, check out the other questions on the Ask! home page, or post one of your own by clicking on the link to the left on the page.