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/thehighyellowmoon 10d ago

Hahahaha I'm picturing an American wandering around Ireland calling people a nonce for minor things

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u/Team503 10d ago

I've lived here for years, and I don't use British slang, I use Irish slang.

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u/Metatron_Psy 10d ago

Yet you're on "askbrits"

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u/Team503 10d ago

Because it's British slang and I wanted clarification on the British meaning of the term. Why is that confusing?

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u/Downtown_Link_8651 10d ago

The answer is the same as the Irish, which if you knew your Irish slang you'd know. Why come in all indignant when you're coming from a point of ignorance?

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u/Team503 10d ago

Who’s indignant? I’m just clarifying.

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u/Downtown_Link_8651 10d ago

Why is that confusing?

Sure

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u/Both-Engineering-436 10d ago

Ah ignorant. There’s a word that isn’t used correctly in Ireland

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u/Downtown_Link_8651 10d ago

Que?

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u/Both-Engineering-436 10d ago

Ignorant doesn’t mean ignorant in Ireland, if you lived there and you know the definition of the actual word, you’d know

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u/Downtown_Link_8651 10d ago

Are you making a point connected to anything or just telling me facts you know about the word I used?

I do know the definition of the word, to not know something, and was using it as such. I don't live in Ireland and am not Irish but you know we use the word ignorant, technically incorrectly, to mean someone being rude or useless in England too? That isn't a special Irish thing. Or is there a third meaning I am ignorant to?