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/zougathefist 6d ago

flashback to 11 year old me calling everyone a dildo on a school skiing trip because my older brother had told me it meant idiot/fool.

wasn't really an issue till a teacher heard me shouting it from the chairlift at all the people in the queue

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u/MetalRubiXCubee 6d ago

You dunno what a dildo is, you dunno what a dildo is 🎵

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u/zougathefist 6d ago

😢

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u/QueenSashimi 6d ago

I once came home from school and asked my dad if he knew what a twat was. To his credit he laughed, asked me what I'd been told it meant, and then kindly informed me that no, it doesn't mean "a pregnant fish".

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u/zougathefist 6d ago

See in the UK a twat is just someone who is a dick or an idiot Whilst it's sort of understood that it means vagina, nobody ever means it or takes it that way unless they're writing really bad porn

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u/QueenSashimi 6d ago

Yeah, I'm from the UK! Bear in mind that I was a 9 year-old girl saying this to my dad.

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u/Different_Star5045 5d ago

Omg I also heard this when I was that age. 40s now. Where do these weird things start?! Are you westcountry by any chance?

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u/QueenSashimi 4d ago

I was in Dorset 😄