Welcome to Noshgate, the latest silly language battle since … er … I wrote about other silly language battles last week.

The language cops’ targeting of the Yiddish word “nosh” (meaning “have a nibble”) at Arthurs Nosh Bar is reminiscent of their battles with “pasta” and phrases like “Go Habs Go” — both eventually abandoned. 

I keep waiting for them to demand Thai restaurants convert “pad Thai” to “pad cravate.”

Their picking on the word “nosh” is almost too easy to satirize. This will likely be abandoned, hopefully before embarrassing stories appear in the international media.

But why can’t we avoid these petty hassles in the first place? 

To use another Yiddish word, Quebec bureaucrats are being “nudniks” about nosh. A nudnik describes a “persistent pest or nag” who drones on about trivial details.

In French, it’s an “enquiquineur” — an “irritating, bothersome person.”

That sounds like some of our language cops when chasing after runaway apostrophes.

But with Quebec’s national holiday coming up Wednesday, let’s not dwell on this latest idiocy. Instead, let’s celebrate why “nosh” is very representative of Montreal today.

For starters, “nosh” is a perfect fit in a city full of celebrated restaurants with English or Frenglish names, like Foxy, Montréal Plaza and Knuckles — all run by prominent francophones who want a........

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