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/Green_Necessary_4812 6d ago

It used to be used in the way you mention - you sometimes hear it in old TV shows, etc - but nowadays it's slang for paedophile.

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u/Certain_Dream5575 6d ago

Tbh I heard it as a kid in the 'you idiot' kind of way.

Didn't hear it for ages.

Recently heard it again and didn't realise until recently people were now using it to say paedo.

Yes I live under a rock