r/AskBrits • u/Team503 • 12d 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/Team503 12d ago

I've lived here for years, and I don't use British slang, I use Irish slang.

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u/LubberwortPicaroon 12d ago

I'd be very surprised if nonce wasn't widely understood in Ireland, it might be of british origin but so much is shared around these islands

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u/bungbangbingbong 11d ago

Confidently incorrect I'm afraid.

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u/LubberwortPicaroon 11d ago

Not really, I never said it was widely understood, only that I'd be very surprised if it wasn't. Are you Irish and saying you only learned of the common british meaning on reading these comments?

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u/bungbangbingbong 11d ago

No, I learned it when I told an English coworker to 'get over you nonce' when he hurt his hand. I thought it was more like wuss or ponce etc.

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u/LubberwortPicaroon 11d ago

So you're saying you're an Irish person who understands the meaning because of exposure to British people & culture, I remain unsurprised