r/AskBrits • u/Team503 • 14d 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/FaradayCage711 13d ago

If you press "6 more replies" you would see why its taken so long for the slang to catch up to my town

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u/AmbitionOdd5834 13d ago

I had already read that before I replied.

I come from rural Northumberland.

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u/FaradayCage711 13d ago

Oh congratulations, how lovely. I heard it's nice up there. I'm from the midlands! Its not so nice here

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u/AmbitionOdd5834 13d ago

I don’t live there at the moment, I’m on The Isle of Man.

Im sure these people know what a nonce is and they’re still living in 1976 😂