Anutmeg, also known by dozens of national and regional variations, is a skill used mainly in association football, but also in field hockey, ice hockey, and basketball. The aim is to kick, roll, dribble, throw, or push the ball (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 of Ronaldo nutmegging an opposing player, with the legend "Joga bonito" (beautiful game) at bottom. The work in Berlin was commissioned by Nike prior to the 2006 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 a dribbling 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 include Riquelme, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Robinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi, and Eden 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 at Liverpool.[3]
There is also a street football game, originating in the Netherlands, which is called panna (Sranan Tongo for gate). This game depends on usage of this technique.[4][5]
In France and other french-speaking regions, children, (mainly boys) sometimes play a game called petit pont massacreur or "petit pont-baston" (= nutmeg slaughter or nutmeg rumble). 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.
An early use of the term is in the novel A bad lotbyBrian Glanville (1977).[6] According to Alex Leith's book Over the Moon, Brian - The Language of Football, "nuts refers to the testicles of the player through whose legs the ball has been passed and nutmeg is just a development from this".[7] The use of the word nutmeg to mean leg, in Cockney rhyming slang, has also been put forward as an explanation.[8]
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.[9] The word, he suggests, arose because of a sharp practice used in nutmeg 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.[8]
In the National Basketball Association, Manu Ginóbili and Jamaal Tinsley employ the pass between the legs variant.[original research?] Some commentators also use the term "five-hole" when this happens; the term arose in ice hockey for when the puck passes between the goalie's legs into the goal.[10][11]
In cricket, England's Nat Sciver had the "Natmeg" shot named after her,[12] when she hit a cricket ball through her legs during a game.[13][14]
In cricket, if ball goes through the legs of a fielder, in Kashmiri language it's said to be a taharat of the fielder. Taharat is the equivalent of Istinja.
In Spanish speaking countries like Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Spain and Mexico, it is called『caño』(spout, pipe),『túnel』(tunnel), or "cocina" (kitchen).
InAlbania it is called "kaush" (cornet) or "mes shalëve", meaning "between the thighs".
InAlgeria it is called『qerƐa』(قرعة), meaning "bottle".
InNew Zealand, it is generally referred to as ''nutmegged'' or ''megged".
InNigeria It is referred to as "Toros" or "Da Pata" or "Kolo" a Yoruba word which is used to refer to a local piggy bank and ''okpuru'' in Igbo, 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 Leith Over the Moon, Brian - The Language of Football
"The Nutmeg dribbling trick". Expert Football. Retrieved 2005-12-20. — 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.
