# What does "Nonce" Mean?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-nonce-mean/1029543>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 25, 2026, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-nonce-mean/1029543 "2026-04-25T08:41:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 5

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**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2026, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-nonce-mean/1029543/5 "2026-04-25T10:17:31Z")

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> [@confused\_lane](#):
>
> When I was growing up, in Australia, Nonce meant someone someone who was stupid, silly, a bit over to the top. “oh, don’t worry about him, he’s bit of a nonce.”

This is also what I thought it meant, but [recently I was told otherwise](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-martin-question/1019557/2), and the real definition amazed me. I had no idea. Luckily I hadn’t ever used the word in public, it was just quietly filed away in my vocabulary. Just mistakenly, it turns out.

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