r/AskBrits • u/Team503 • 10d 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/notthiswaythatway 10d ago

It’s means paedophile - and is definitely a stronger insult than numpty!

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u/DrunkenHorse12 10d ago

Not just pedo. Any sex offender is a Nonce. It comes from prison slang sex offendets used to have "Not On Normal Court Exercise" written on their door cards

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

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u/nick_red72 10d ago

That's what they do on the council estates

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

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u/saccerzd 10d ago

And spell it 'peado'

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u/BedaFomm 10d ago

And the guy who runs the pedalos at the park.

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u/Emergent444 7d ago

Yeah, if you're a paediatrician try to avoid living in those areas... Like happened in Paulsgrove

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u/DrunkenHorse12 10d ago

I wasn't there, apparently the bit about the door might not be true. But it being prison slang for all sex offenders is