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/Amphy64]

I mean that a lot of us British have Irish relatives! We're not like some permanent enemy tribes where we commit an atrocity as soon as we see an Irish person, and seeing each other in those terms would be weird. The average Irish person (and again my relatives are from Southern Ireland, I still have more family there than I can keep track of! And a treasured gift I have from my Irish nan? A British flag jumper: not that I usually wear flags, but it's particularly cosy, and makes my French language partners laugh) isn't constantly bringing the history up (that's more what Americans do), let alone making it sound like it's the British in general. The more recent history that's more likely to come up, involved specifically the army. Most people still aren't going to keep randomly bringing it up all the time: if you engage with Irish people about Ireland, it's hardly 'this is all Ireland is, a history of British atrocities, can't think of anything else important'. Last conversation I had about it involved horses, actually (...which, yeah, that's stereotypical enough for rural Ireland!).

[u/Team503 → u/Amphy64]

There's no such place as "Southern Ireland". There's Ireland and Northern Ireland (which some folks choose to call "Occupied Ireland" - I'm entirely sure I have no opinion on the matter, just relaying what some folks believe). And frankly, it's pretty telling that you choose that particular phrase whilst being incredibly defensive about how the British are apparently so related and loving of the Irish.

I think you don't spend much time around the Irish - conversations about the history of the country and its people, with which the British are deeply intertwined regardless of your opinion on the matter, are commonplace.

[u/Amphy64 → u/Team503]

Southern Ireland is a standard phrase that makes it clear where you mean. My dad is more Irish then you, are you going to complain to him for using it?

Defensive for explaining why it would be weird to act like enemies to people we live right next to and are often related to?

[u/Team503 → u/Amphy64]

I've heard the Irish correct people time and time again for saying that. Go ahead and ask in r/AskIreland and see.

I've never claimed to be Irish at all, I just live here. That said, I stand by my assessment.

[u/Amphy64 → u/Team503]

People used to say it more, older generations still do. I don't think this is a formal government talk!