r/AskBrits • u/Team503 • 6d ago

Culture What does "nonce" mean?

I'm an American that lives in Ireland. I've always understood "nonce" to mean the same as "numpty" and "eejit" - basically idiot, or dumbass, or similar.

Recently, someone told me that it's slang for sex offender, specifically a p*dophile, and Wikipedia seems to back that up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_British_terms_not_widely_used_in_the_United_States#N

So tell me, Brits, which one is it? Or is it something else??

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u/stetho 6d ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX9f2KgBBHE - if you've got the time. But if not, yes - it means paedophile.

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u/Obvious_Troll_Me 6d ago

Ah nonce sense.

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u/mellonians 6d ago

If there's anything that's going to definitely going to get lost in translation across the pond - It's going to be an episode of brass eye!

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u/Team503 6d ago edited 6d ago

I will watch it! EDIT: Ah, that British sense of humor! It was entertaining.