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This is similar to American cryptographic literature and libraries (and who knows, maybe some British ones too) using the word "nonce". In the UK that word mea
by afandian 10y ago
This is similar to American cryptographic literature and libraries (and who knows, maybe some British ones too) using the word "nonce".
In the UK that word means ... well you can look it up.
- philh 10y agoFWIW, I've lived in the UK my whole life and I had no idea that had any meaning apart from the crypto one.
- richmarr 10y agoI think it's quite an old fashioned bit of slang... I think I've come across it more frequently in 1970s/80s police dramas than anywhere else. Google has it pinned as being primarily a UK search term so there must still be people using it, unless this is just an echo caused by a special offer on boxed sets of The Sweeney.
- afandian 10y agoWell, it is prison slang, but, I believe, in broad circulation. Maybe it is a bit dated. Wikipedia says it's in the OED: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonce_(slang) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonce_(slang)