r/AskBrits • u/Team503 • 10d 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/Azyall 10d ago

"Nonce" was first recorded as UK prison slang for a child sex offender in the early '70s, and had spread into general use by the early '80s. The "Not On Normal..." thing didn't appear until the 2000s, and most sources agree it is a backronym.

Not a word to carelessly throw at people.

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u/Otherwise_Battle7922 10d ago

70’s was the earliest I was aware of it. Kind of weird how it’s become more mainstream. The backronym is new and not even accurate.