Nutmeg (association football)

A nutmeg, 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 between an opponent's legs. 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.

Exponents in football

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. 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.

Street football game

There is also a street football game, originating in the Netherlands, which is called panna. This game depends on usage of this technique.
In France and other french-speaking regions, children, sometimes play a game called petit pont massacreur or "petit pont-baston". 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".

Etymology

An early use of the term is in the novel A bad lot by Brian Glanville. 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". The use of the word nutmeg to mean leg, in Cockney rhyming slang, has also been put forward as an explanation.
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. 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.

In other sports

In the National Basketball Association, Manu Ginóbili and Jamaal Tinsley employ the pass between the legs variant. 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.
In cricket, England's Nat Sciver had the "Natmeg" shot named after her, when she hit a cricket ball through her legs during a game.
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 other languages

Nutmeg is the British English name for this technique.

In Spanish speaking countries like Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Spain and Mexico, it is called "caño", "túnel", "horqueta" or "cocina".
In Albania it is called "kaush" or "mes shalëve", meaning "between the thighs".
In Algeria it is called "qerƐa", meaning "bottle".
In Angola it is called "caguero" or "Iona".
In Australia it is called a "nutmeg" or "megs".
In Austria it is called "Gurkerl", literally meaning "small cucumber", referring to pickled cucumbers.
In Botswana it is called "kitchen" or "keafeta".
In Brazil it is called a "caneta", "janelinha", "rolinho", "ovinho" or tabaca.
In Brunei it is called "lasut" or "ole".
In Bulgaria it is called "мрежичка", meaning "a small net".
In Cameroon it is referred to as "n'zolo".
In Cape Verde it is called "lavagem" meaning wash.
In Catalan speaking countries like Catalonia or Andorra it is called "tunel" or "sotana", meaning "tunnel" or "cassock" in English.
In China it is called "Chuandang".
In Cyprus it is called "Παττίχα" meaning "watermelon".
In Czech Republic it is usually called "jesle" or "housle".
In Denmark, Sweden and Norway it is called "tunnel".
In Dutch it is known by the verb "poorten" and the Surinamese word "panna".
In Ecuador it is called “galleta”.
In Egypt and Saudi Arabia it is called "kobry", meaning "bridge ".
In Ethiopia it is called "lochie", or "weled" in Tigrigna.
In Finland it is called "länget" or "puikot".
In France it is called "petit pont".
In Germany it is called "Tunnel", "Beini" or "Beinschuss".
In Ghana it is called "SULIA".
In Greece it is called "podia" meaning "apron".
In Hong Kong it is called "通坑渠".
In Hungary it is called "kötény", "szoknya" or "bőr"
In Iceland it is called "klobbi" literally meaning a crotch.
In India it is called "Galla", derived from ‘gali’ meaning narrow lane. In some parts of India it is also called "Pana" literally meaning a spanner.
* In Malayalam it is called "nada" meaning "through the middle", e.g. "Messi avante nada eduthu" means "Messi has nutmegged him".
In Indonesia it is called kolong meaning "pit".
In Iran it is called "laayee" meaning "in between", or "the one that goes between ".
In Ireland it is called "megs".
In Israel it is called "השחלת חוט במחט" or "הברשה".
In Italy it is called "tunnel". In some parts of Italy it is also called "busta".
In Jamaican English it is known as "salad".
In Japan it is called "Mata nuki".
In Jordan it is called "balaḥa", meaning "date ".
In Kashmiri it is called `Taharat` which is equivalent of Istinja.
In Kenya it is commonly known as "chobo" or "chobwe" - kupigwa chobo
In Korea it is called "Alggagi ".
In Lebanon it is called "Bayda", which means egg or testicle.
in Libya it is called "bomshi" which is a kind of stones.
In Lithuanian it is called "sijonas", which means skirt, or "klynas", which means space between your legs.
In Luxembourg it is called "petit pont".
In Madagascar it is called "kanalina"
In Malawi it is called Kalulu meaning "the hare" or "the rabbit"
In Malaysia and Singapore it is known as an "olé" or "50sen".
In Malta it is called "cracker tat-tazza" meaning "cup cracker".
In Mandarin it is called "穿裆", meaning "through the crotch".
In Mauritania it is called "Yali".
In Morocco it is called “Bayda“, which means egg.
In Myanmar it is called "phaung gyar hte' htae".
In Namibia it is called "Junkie" or "Kootjie"
In Nepal it is also called "अन्डा पार्नु".
In New Zealand, it is generally referred to as nutmegged or megged".
In Nigeria 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.
In Norway it is called "Tunnel". In the same meaning as in English. It can also be referred to as "luke".
In Pakistan it is called "Chadda" or "panna".
In Papua New Guinea it is called "one-kina", after the coin which has a hole in the middle. It is pronounced in English.
In Peru it is called "huacha".
In Polish it is called "siata", "kanał" or "dziurka".
In Portugal it is usually called a "túnel", "cueca", "rata" or "ova".
In Quebec, Canada it is called "toilette", "tasse de café" implying that someone has been served.
In Romania it is called "urechi", meaning "ears", or "craci", meaning "legs".
In Russia it is called "mezhdu nog", "otverstiye" or "ochko", meaning "hole".
In Senegal it is called "yalli".
In Sierra Leone it is called "under waise" or "under cellar"
In South Africa it is also known as a "iShibobo".And also "Spy two".
In Sweden it is called "tunnel" and "tunnla".
In Tanzania it is called "tobo" or more accurately "kupigwa tobo".
In Thai it is called "ลอดดาก" or "ดากไหม้".
In Trinidad and Tobago it is called "breed".
In Tunisia it is called "Ɛeḍma", meaning "egg".
In Turkey it is called "beşik", "beşlik", "bacak arası" or "yumurtlamak".
In Uganda it is: "Okubiika Eggi" meaning "to lay an egg" or "okuzaala abalongo" which is giving birth to twins.
In Ukraine it is called "p'yatdesyat kopiyok", which is derived from the comedic idea that if a player nutmegs you, you owe them 50 cents.
In Uzbekistan it is called "Чотакай".
In Vietnam it is called "xỏ háng" or "xâu kim".
In Zambia it is called a "pomo or Olilo"
In Zimbabwe it is called "deya, window or umbhoko"
In Yemen it is called "طاقة" or "طوقي" meaning "window".
In many other European/Latin and African countries it is called "panna", a Surinamese word.