People are only just realising why it’s called a ‘nutmeg’ in football

People are only just realising why it's called a nutmeg in football when a player kicks the ball through an opponent's legs.

One of the most disrespectful yet simple skills in the game, fans love seeing a player left motionless as their opponent runs off behind them after exposing the gap between their legs. However, many football fans don't actually know where the name for the skill comes from, despite its popularity in the sport.

According to The Guardian, there are several different rumoured origins for the term, including that nutmeg is 1940s cockney rhyming slang for leg.

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However, Peter Seddon has in fact explained the nickname's origin in his book, Football Talk – The Language And Folklore Of The World's Greatest Game.

As well as having roots in the nutmeg trade, the word actually dates back to the late 1800s, as Seddon explains. He highlights the verb nutmegged is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary.

There it is described as: "Arising in the 1870s which in Victorian slang came to mean 'to be tricked or deceived, especially in a manner which makes the victim look foolish'."

What is the most disrespectful nutmeg you have ever seen? Let us know in the comments section below.

Victims of nutmegs are certainly left looking foolish, with the player who completes the skill often mocking them by shouting "megs" or "nuts" as they run past them to collect the ball.

Several instances of players completing nutmegs on their own team-mates have also gone viral on social media in recent seasons, with surrounding players going wild around them as the unfortunate victim puts their head in their hands in despair.

Some players are less accepting after being nutmegged in training, though, including former West Ham United hardman Julian Dicks.

The Hammers legend exclusively revealed to Daily Star Sport earlier this year that he once "smashed" a young Joe Cole and gave him a chilling warning after the midfielder embarrassed him in training.

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