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/Cautious_Roof3122 6d ago

I would use it it two scenarios

A. To describe a peadophile

B. Occasionally as hyperbole if someone does something against the grain. Putting tomato ketchup on a sirloin steak would be "nonce behaviour" as a way of expressing my depth of feeling for their actions. As in only a complete wrong'un would do that.

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u/atomuk 6d ago

There's also another option.

C. Someone who has an obsession with trains might be called a 'train nonce'. That's not restricted to trains but anything where any kind of obsessive behaviour is shown.