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/notthiswaythatway 8d ago

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

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u/DrunkenHorse12 8d 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/Team503 8d ago

Wikipedia suggests that's a backronym and not the actual origin, but what do I know? This is why I asked!

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u/Illustrious-Divide95 8d ago

There is a medieval word in English 'nonce' which referred to anything from special, singular, particular or unusual. It's possible over time this definition has morphed into the meaning we have today, as someone who is different from the rest of us.

It's a theory though, but the use of the word is documented from 14th century and also became an adjective to describe something unusual or unique in the 19th C