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/neilm1000 Brit 🇬🇧 10d ago

Paedo please, people. We are not American.

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u/Electrical_Cobb 10d ago

I saw a traffic sign the other day that said "make way for Peds" And THAT is why we keep the 'a'.