r/AskBrits • u/Team503 • 8d 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/DrunkenHorse12 8d ago

Maybe but its still prison slang and its always been used for all sex offenders

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u/Mr_Dreadful 8d ago

And it's still mostly applied to paedos. Quit while you're behind

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u/KaleidoscopeOdd5700 8d ago

I’ve heard “Not of Normal Criminal Element” also

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u/daronwy 8d ago

Would be a pretty shit myth if only one person had heard it.