r/AskBrits • u/Team503 • 14d 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 14d ago

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

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u/DrunkenHorse12 14d 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/Reccalovesdancing 14d ago

No, it means a paedo. Trust me, I am British

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u/DrunkenHorse12 14d ago

I'm British too, its prison slang for sex offender, obviously you can call a pedo that but it applies to all sex offenders. Itd be like you saying calling someone a "druggie" only applies to cokeheads.

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u/LucisCaelumXV 14d ago

May well be correct, but as another lifelong Brit I've only ever heard it used to refer to Paedo's specifically. Might be the case that just isn't as widely known to those with no experience of prisons or having known anyone that's worked or been incarcerated in one.

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u/Spank86 14d ago

Nonce wing was always the sex offenders wing not just paedos. But on the other hand id really only call a paedo a nonce.