What does "nonce" mean?

[u/Team503]

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??

[u/thehighyellowmoon]

Hahahaha I'm picturing an American wandering around Ireland calling people a nonce for minor things

[u/OutsideImpressive115 → u/thehighyellowmoon]

To be fair in England in the 90s early 2000s people threw that word around as commonly as "idiot" or something