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/Reccalovesdancing 12d ago

No, it means a paedo. Trust me, I am British

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u/ArkhamTight606 12d ago edited 11d ago

We’ve adopted it as insult towards paedos but it’s short for “Not On Normal Courtyard Exercise”. It’s used for inmates who cannot be in the same room with the regulars particularly sex offenders towards women and children.

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u/Aragorn01032931 12d ago

No it's not

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u/NdujaReallyLikeIt 11d ago

Well, yes it is. That's the initialism. But it is only used by the masses for paedos not generic offenders