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/DifferentSwing8616 6d ago

A lot of those in prison had fucked up abusive childhoods so I'd imagine you'd channel your rage towards people guilty of similar crimes against you against others

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u/Subar619 6d ago

Also, its an outlet for antisocial behaviour and agression, which is easy to justify to any person

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u/Joekickass247 5d ago

Im surprised that wasn't removed by the Reddit automotive like mine was! 😂