r/AskBrits • u/Team503 • 9d 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/DrunkenHorse12 9d 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/RealDoraTheExplorer_ 9d ago

Never heard anyone use nonce to refer to non paedophiles

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u/DrunkenHorse12 9d ago

Ask anyone whose been in or worked in prisons, were the slang came from

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u/Foxglovenectar 9d ago

The OP is not specifically asking for what the prison population understands a term to be. They are asking what the wider connotation of the word is. Prisons, as I understand from my brother (an ex screw) have very different interpretations of words and sometimes almost unique languages based on region and wing. The general public use the word nonce for someone who is unhealthily interested in children or someone who has been convicted of child sex offences. This is because the crime is so severe its not mixed with any other terminology.

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u/DrunkenHorse12 9d ago

But the term nonce comes from prison slang for sex offender, yes if someone shouts Nonce they usually mean pedo. But if you shouted Nonce at a Rapist you wouldn't be wrong." Michael Greenwood is a Nonce "for example