Nutmegged
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The verb 'nutmegged' arose in 1870's Victorian era slang. It came to be known as someone who was tricked or deceived especially in a manner that made them look foolish. The word arose because of a practice commonly used during nutmeg shipments between The United States of America and Britain. Nutmegs were a valuable commodity and exporters would regularly place wooden replicas in the ships to England to make up the weight. To be 'nutmegged' implied stupidity on the part of the receiver.
Nowadays the term is widely used in footballing soccer circles and the term is used when one player places the ball through the open legs of an opposition player and collects the ball on the other side. Just as in 1870's slang, the player who has been nutmegged will have to cope with much derision from both his fellow players and those watching the game on the sidelines. [1]
Nutmegged found its way into footballing circles in the 1940s. The term is Cockney rhyming slang for 'legs'. That coupled with the original meaning came to be known as the term we know today. The action of being nutmegged is the most embarrassing thing that can befall a professional footballer, especially at a football ground which is not his or her regular home venue.
The term nutmegged has embedded itself into football culture all across the United Kingdom with the cult TV show 'Soccer AM' dedicating a weekly slot to the event each week. The show has also asked many professional footballers whether they are "Nuts or Megs?" The protocol after performing a nutmeg is to shout either one or the other to increase the embarrassment factor of the player you have just humiliated.
Football supporters have also taken the name to heart and many websites can be found with nutmegs or nutmegged being a key ingredient to the content including the popular message board of the same name.
