That Yiddish word originated in German, and in both languages originally meant nibble or taste (and still does in German, at least as far as I know). (The German verb is “naschen”.) In some places that meaning has expanded, first to mean not just “nibble/taste” but “kinds of food that are tasty or good for nibbling”, and after that being generalized further and further.
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THAT’S interesting!
Of course, I had to look it up. I found this,but who knows what to believe these days.
http://billsinclair.es/fd-2/
I like this copy and paste from TripAdvisor better;
" 11 of 22 ·
It seems there was an obligation by law but that it ceased in 1975, although I have read that there was government control of the menus until 1981.
Yes G-M it was your comment that piqued my interest, it fitted with my experiences of the last few years but triggered the memory of what I’d been told all those years ago.
Thanks, Belsaita, for filling in some of the sketchier bits of what I’d found which was:
In the 1960s the Ministry of Tourism standardized a custom that was already common practice in many establishments of including an affordable meal for the common worker. By law, all restaurants were now obligated to offer a set lunch menu at a fixed price, initially named the “menú turístico“. Later on, official name changes included “menú de la casa,” and the current “menú del día”.
The menú del día started to be served in 1965, when the Franco government declared that all restaurants over and above a certain size, and open for more than a certain number of hours each week, must provide an affordable and nutritious meal for the average Spanish worker without being forced to travel to and from their homes in the middle of the working day. This menu was to be offered at a price at least 50% less than if the dishes were ordered individually.
The obligation of law to offer a menú del día disappeared with the death of Franco in 1975,
It seems that in the economic hard times of recent years the menú del día is mutually beneficial to both restaurants, ensuring steady custom, and customers, getting a good meal at an often more than reasonable price.
Some other snippets:
"The Spanish are proud people and have the attitude of “make the best of what you have”. By eating locally and with the seasons, adding some basic staple ingredients they never compromise on flavor. There is both tradition and sentiment ingrained in these people and their recipes. Paella will only be served as a menu of the day dish on a Thursday. This is the day that the rice was available during the time of rationing. "
“In what could be seen as a lack of trust in the locals, the Ministry specified word for word the contents of the menú: regional specialities which included fish or meat as one of the courses, dessert, 80g of bread – surely weighed out carefully by the waiters – and a quarter liter of “common country wine.” The Ministry even controlled the price of the menú until as late as 1981.”
(There are many statements on the internet that the law still exists, and many instances that say it exists for most restaurants without specifying the criteria. But as they say never trust the internet, and once something is on the internet whether right, wrong, current or not, it is there forever.)".
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At least they’re not WET.
We regularly eat at a place, in Mallorca, that only opens during the day, offering a menu del dia. When we first started to visit, it was always full of locals, with queues outside waiting for it to open at 1pm. Now, that’s just as it wa sintended - a place for work people to go and have a “proper” meal, if they could not go home for lunch. We were a rare tourist visitor. However, over the years, there have been significantly fewer locals and more tourists. I can only assume that’s because either folk are bringing their own food from home or, with the increase in car ownership over the decades, folk can get home easily. It is still the same type of very homey food and very cheap at about €12 for three courses, including wine and water (but not coffee). But I rather miss sharing a communal table with the likes of a couple of decorators in their work overalls.
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Agree. Merriam Webster has this definition of nosh. Nosh is most useful to me as a synonym for snack, and noshing as a synonym for the act of snacking.
Though you might well come across someone using nosh to simply mean food or say they were noshing when they simply mean they were eating. But that usage dilutes the meaning.
And now I feel like I need a little nosh with my tea. 
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I drive through a large gentrified area of upscale condos and apartments in Houston with a young population and I’ve never seen so many skinny people, especially females.
Thousand dollar “designer dogs” are de rigueur for walking.
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Nosh in our home is far more casual than snack. Nosh is on the fly. Snack is arranged. My Jewish side of the tribe nosh on deli leftovers whereas my Italian side of the family snacks on cake and coffee or pie and tea. Cookies btw are dessert. Go figure.
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Rooster’s definition is how I understand and used it in my upthread post. Repeating, I prepare a first course or starter plate for dh so that he doesn’t cruise through the kitchen looking for cookies, snack crackers, cheese et al. so…nosh was meant mindlessly eating small bites.
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I would generally agree with you that you don’t generally see doggie bags here in Europe. That’s not to say a restaurant wouldnt wrap up leftovers for you - I’m sure most places wcertainly would. But it’s very rare to see that happen. I had never seen it in the UK until very recent years and, actually, only in a couple of local Sichuan places which mainly cater to our relatively large Chinese student population.
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Yep, extra kindness to others and ourselves is the way to go especially at the moment.
I’m challenged to be kind to myself right now. I’m the only cook in the house and my husband’s calorie needs and mine are quite different. He was abruptly moved to 100% work from home, which was my work/life domain during the day. Guess who feels like he won the golden ticket to effortless weight loss while I’m now fighting a losing battle? Certainly not terrible—we are lucky and so grateful for what we have—but it’s yet another bad effect on everyday life during this rotten time.
And for me, differences in foodways, cultures, and language are a big part of what keep life interesting. Opportunities to engage and understand are like gold to me.
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Regarding the American style of serving meat, veg and starch on the same plate, does anyone remember these divided plates?
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I remember this divided plate rather well!!
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I wonder what my diabetes nurse would make of the divided plate. She’d probably think it a very good idea but I bet her approval might change depending on what element of the dish went in the large section. Her advice for my plate is 25% protein, 25% carb, 50% vegetable. I rarely hit the target.
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I use a divided plastic bento box for my doggie bag when I travel. It was handy in Japan. Saved my leftovers for snacks later. 
I also have been known to keep some clean plastic bags or silicon bags in my purse, for things I don’t finish. Better than wrapping leftovers in napkins 
I’ve had a few messes inside my purse when I’ve wrapped a leftover from a restaurant or a party in a cocktail napkin 
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Amen. For years I have carried zip-loc sandwich bags when we eat out. I can never finish the quantity protein served, and feel it’s insensitive to return excellent food to the kitchen.
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I wanted to vailidate the comments I’d made earlier about the similarities in presentation of restaurant meals between America and the two European countries I know best (UK and Spain). So, I’ve had a read of recentish meals I’ve eaten in the three countries and I link to the HO reviews I wrote below. These three places are all mid-range neighbourhood bistro type restaurants. And, yes, I’ve validated my comments - these meals are presented in very similar ways, IMO. There’s lightish starters, followed by a main course plate generally involving protein, carb and veg and a dessert (something we often don’t order). No cultural difference of significance - probably just as you’d expect.
My mom couldn’t make it to a special tasting menu at a restaurant, which had at least 8 small courses, a couple years ago. I went in her place, and brought home half of every course in two bento box containers
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Just curious, the restaurant couldn’t pack the food for you? Or it’s due to embarrassment?
It happened to me that I couldn’t finish a dish, I sometimes asked for a doggy bag. It’s usually it was a plastic or paper box. Once, I slipped the chocolate madeleine in the cafe gourmand in a paper napkin and off in my handbag in a more fancy place. I have also asked for a cork if we couldn’t finish our wine, the alcohol limit is getting stricter over the years for drivers.
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