Anutmeg, also known by dozens of national and regional variations, is a skill used mainly inassociation football, but also infield hockey,ice hockey, andbasketball. The aim is to kick, roll, dribble, throw, or push theball (or puck) between an opponent's legs (feet). This might be done to pass or when shooting the ball, but a nutmeg is more commonly associated with the skill of dribbling where it enables a player to get behind a defender.
Mural ofRonaldo nutmegging an opposing player, with the legend"Joga bonito" (beautiful game) at bottom. The work in Berlin was commissioned byNike prior to the2006 World Cup in Germany.
Kicking the ball through an opponent's legs in order to get the ball past them and back to the original player is adribbling skill that is commonly used among football players. Owing to its effectiveness and being visually impressive, it is very popular among players and can be frequently seen being attempted multiple times throughout a game, whether by a single player or many different players. Some of the most notable practitioners includeRiquelme,Ronaldo,Ronaldinho,Robinho,Cristiano Ronaldo,Neymar,Luis Suárez,Lionel Messi, andEden Hazard.[1][2] Suárez in particular is known for having a penchant for executing it constantly, which led to the banner and saying "Suárez can nutmeg a Mermaid" during his time atLiverpool.[3]
There is also astreet football game, originating in the Netherlands, which is calledpanna (Sranan Tongo forgate). This game depends on usage of this technique.[4][5]
In France and other french-speaking regions, children, (mainly boys) sometimes play a game calledpetit pont massacreur or "petit pont-baston" ("small bridge massacre" and "small bridge fight" in French, but equivalent to nutmeg slaughter and nutmeg rumble in English or string-a-kick in Jamaica).[6] During this game, any player that gets a nutmeg becomes the target of all other players, who are then allowed to kick the player, until he touches a predefinite object in the game area. The violence of this game got it to be highly mediatised during the 2000s, after children were hospitalized because of it. This is similar to a game played by children in the UK called "nutmeg rush", and a game played in the Netherlands called "Panna Knockout"[7][8].
An early use of the term is in the novelA bad lot byBrian Glanville (1977).[9] According to Alex Leith's bookOver the Moon, Brian - The Language of Football, "nuts refers to thetesticles of the player through whose legs the ball has been passed and nutmeg is just a development from this".[10] The use of the word nutmeg to mean leg, inCockney rhyming slang, has also been put forward as an explanation.[11]
Another theory, supported by the OED, was postulated by Peter Seddon in his book,Football Talk - The Language And Folklore Of The World's Greatest Game.[12] The word, he suggests, arose because of a sharp practice used innutmeg exports in the 19th century between North America and England. "Nutmegs were such a valuable commodity that unscrupulous exporters were to pull a fast one by mixing a helping of wooden replicas into the sacks being shipped to England," writes Seddon. "Being nutmegged soon came to imply stupidity on the part of the duped victim and cleverness on the part of the trickster." While such a ploy would surely not be able to be employed more than once, Seddon alleges it soon caught on in football, implying that the player whose legs the ball had been played through had been tricked, or, nutmegged.[11]
In the National Basketball Association,Manu Ginóbili andJamaal Tinsley employ the pass between the legs variant.[original research?] Some commentators also use the term "five-hole" when this happens; the term arose inice hockey for when the puck passes between the goalie's legs into the goal.[13][14]
In cricket, England'sNat Sciver had the "Natmeg" shot named after her,[15] when she hit a cricket ball through her legs during a game.[16][17]
In cricket, if ball goes through the legs of a fielder, inKashmiri language it's said to be a taharat of the fielder. Taharat is the equivalent ofIstinja.
In Spanish speaking countries likeArgentina,Colombia,Chile,Costa Rica,Spain andMexico, it is called "caño" (spout, pipe), "túnel" (tunnel), "horqueta" (pitchfork) or "cocina" (kitchen).
InAlbania it is called "kaush" (cornet) or "mes shalëve", meaning "between the thighs".
InAlgeria it is called "qerƐa" (قرعة), meaning "bottle".
InNepal it is also called "अन्डा पार्नु" (lay egg).
InNew Zealand, it is generally referred to as ''nutmegged'' or ''megged".
InNigeria It is referred to as "Toros" or "Da Pata" or "Kolo" aYoruba word which is used to refer to a local piggy bank and ''okpuru'' inIgbo, a word which directly translates to under. In northern Nigeria, it is also called OC(Oh see).
InNorway it is called "Tunnel". In the same meaning as in English. It can also be referred to as "luke" (hatch).
InTunisia it is called "Ɛeḍma" (عظمة), meaning "egg".
InTurkey it is called "beşik" (cradle), "beşlik" (5-pointer), "bacak arası" ("from between the legs") or (for the defender) "yumurtlamak" (lay eggs).
InUganda it is: "Okubiika Eggi" meaning "to lay an egg" or "okuzaala abalongo" which is giving birth to twins.
InUkraine it is called "p'yatdesyat kopiyok" (п'ятдесят копійок, fifty cents), which is derived from the comedic idea that if a player nutmegs you, you owe them 50 cents.
^Page 57 "He nutmegged him ! ' 'He did,' said Peter Bailey, wonderingly, 'he did. A proper nutmeg.' What Jack had done, in fact, was to slip the ball between the legs.."
^Alex LeithOver the Moon, Brian - The Language of Football
"The Nutmeg dribbling trick".Expert Football. Retrieved2005-12-20. — stills of a player executing a nutmeg, demonstrating the trick of pulling the ball back in order to force the defender to open his legs.
