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I was developing a software application for a British customer. I sent him an update to review and in the README noted that I had disabled one of the features
by thetadot 5y ago
I was developing a software application for a British customer. I sent him an update to review and in the README noted that I had disabled one of the features "for the nonce".
Fortunately he had a good sense of humo(u)r and forgave me.
(More hazardous than cookies and biscuits)
References:
American Eng: "for the nonce" = for the moment. i.e. temporarily
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/for%20the%20nonce https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/for%20the%20nonce
British Eng: "nonce" = a person who commits a crime involving sex
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/nonce https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/nonce
- kingkawn 5y agoNever heard for the nonce in America
- kanwisher 5y agoIt’s used in software for sequencing in protocols so stuff doesn’t get repeated
- selimthegrim 5y agoAlso cryptography.
- Beldin 5y agoSure, but there it's generally understood to mean "Number used Once".
- thaumasiotes 5y agoHuh? I immediately assumed the use in cryptography was related to... the normal use. Compare https://www.etymonline.com/word/nonce-word https://www.etymonline.com/word/nonce-word : > "word coined for a special occasion," and not likely to be wanted again, 1884, from nonce "for a particular purpose" + word (n.). And despite what you say, I still feel certain that's what's going on. The meaning is identical.
- selimthegrim 5y agoSure but I thought above comment meant sequencing in genetic sense so it bore clarifying
- Tagbert 5y agoIt’s not a common part of most people’s vocabulary but not unknown among those with a higher rate of reading.
- kingkawn 5y ago
- mhh__ 5y agoNonce more specifically means someone who preys on children versus (say) a rapist who merely preys on adults.
- everybodyknows 5y agoA few other bear traps: stuffed, knock up, napkin.
- tomc1985 5y agoWhere in the US do people say 'for the nonce'? Because it certainly isn't where I am.
- kwhitefoot 5y agoFor the nonce means the same in British English, it's just not very common. He was just winding you up because it can be interpreted as for the kiddie fiddler. Think of Tommy: Fiddle about, https://genius.com/The-who-fiddle-about-lyrics https://genius.com/The-who-fiddle-about-lyrics
- robocat 5y agoI am a New Zealander, and a common difficulty with visitors is the difference between “can’t” and “cunt”. The vowel has exactly the same sound, but it is long for can’t, and short for cunt. Can uses a different vowel sound from can’t, which means we can misunderstand Americans who don’t pronounce the t in can’t properly. Fortunately we can usually pick that a tourist using the word cunt usually means can’t. It is especially difficult for some people, because they don’t naturally understand vowel length changes. In Māori and Latin vowel length is critical to differentiate words. Kiwis often understand both British and American usages of words, for example calling something “completely pants” makes sense to me. Pissed can be used in either a British or American sense. I have only ever heard of nonce in the software engineering sense, and never in the perverse sense (and I have a much wider vocabulary than most). Pants here means trousers, following the American usage. Usage of some individual Māori words within an otherwise English sentence is becoming more common here (cultural pride versus historical cringe), but I would expect most kiwis avoid using them if speaking to a tourist.
- Lio 5y agoYeah just to be clear, it’s not just a sex criminal but specifically a paedophile. Anyone British working with cryptography should know it’s a number only once but, well, it can be awkward.