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Amazing blunder by Chester Zoo (lemmy.nz)

submitted 4 days ago by blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/casualuk@feddit.uk

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Story here

https://metro.co.uk/2026/09/12/chester-zoo-ruthlessly-mocked-advertising-tickets-child-predator-tour-29593364/

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[-] psycotica0@lemmy.ca 8 points 4 days ago

What? Is that what nonce means? From context I thought it was just like "dumbass" or something!

[-] radiouser@crazypeople.online 9 points 4 days ago

Lol no, don't use it like that! In the UK, calling someone a "nonce" is calling them a child molester.

[-] GiveOver@feddit.uk 6 points 4 days ago

Yes but to be fair we also call each other child molesters somewhat casually

[-] Digestive_Biscuit@feddit.uk 6 points 4 days ago

No we don't. Don't be a complete nonce.

[-] radiouser@crazypeople.online 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Yeah, you're right - I almost added a bit about how friends will say* that to each other. It certainly wouldn't be something you'd want to mutter to someone you thought was being daft if you didn't know them.

[-] Digestive_Biscuit@feddit.uk 1 points 3 days ago

It's similar to other words commonly used. The root of the meaning is mostly lost and only the usage of it remains. Bastard, sod are two that come to mind.

[-] Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago

Nonce apparently comes from nonsense…

“What are you in (prison) for?”

“Ach, man. A bit of nonsense.”

[-] blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 4 days ago

Not On Normal Communal Experience

It's prison slang

[-] FishFace@piefed.social 11 points 4 days ago

That's absolutely a backronym

[-] GiveOver@feddit.uk 7 points 4 days ago

I don't think there's a K in bacronym because it's short for barely a causal relationship of numerous yucky morphemes

[-] FishFace@piefed.social 2 points 4 days ago

bravo!

[-] blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 3 days ago

Mebbies?

I used to think 'twocced' was slag for stolen but it's from Taken Without Owners Consent which is definitely a police term

[-] FishFace@piefed.social 1 points 3 days ago

yeah twoc/twocced/twoccing is a legit acronym. I realised that the supposed acronym for nonce is "Not on Normal Communal Exercise" rather than "Experience" which makes more sense in the prison context. It can be hard to be sure of word's origin, but in these cases:

On TWOC, the police actually charge people with "taking without owner's consent". You can find the source of the words in the relevant Act.
On Nonce, I don't think anyone has ever heard anyone refer to someone as "not on normal communal exercise" - it's an awkward phrase - why is it referring specifically to exercise rather than something more general - "Not in Communal Accommodation" - NICA? "Isolated for own safety" - IFOS? It stretches believability in the supposed source phrase in a way that TWOC doesn't. The earliest attestation of the theory I could find is also from 2012 but the word has been around longer.

[-] psycotica0@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 days ago

Around here the word "goof" has started to mean that in prison slang, and so it's been kinda weird seeing two rough guys yelling at each other with full seriousness "you're a fuckin goof! ", "I'm not the goof, you're the fuckin goof!"