Trick or spice? How the 'nutmeg' came to dominate the soccer world

Trick or spice? How the 'nutmeg' came to dominate the soccer world May 28, 20265:00 AM ET By  Ava Berger Circa 1790: plants used in commerce, including nutmeg, tea and cotton plants. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Hulton Archive/Getty Images You may know nutmeg as an item that lives in your spice cabinet. But did you know its colorful verb form? "You get nutmegged on the pitch — it's actually psychologically damaging," Solomon Tesfaye, 33, said on a muggy spring Monday at a pickup soccer game at Randall Field in Washington, D.C. He was referencing a killer trick move in which a player kicks the ball through a defender's legs. Nutmegging is an artistic maneuver that the most skilled players pull off effortlessly, leaving the opponent spinning around in circles. Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Neymar can all do it with ease. Sponsor Message It can also be a "beautiful experience," according to Mawi Solomon, 29. Still, "it's a crazy word. It's a loaded word." Tesfaye chimed in to explain that "Mawi here and a few of the other guys I've played with have gotten nutmegged by me." Solomon's mouth dropped open. "Misinformation right there," he said, laughing. How did a spice turn into one of the most sought-after — and painful — trick moves in soccer? Two weeks before the start of the World Cup, this installment of NPR's Word of the Week explains how "nutmeg" became synonymous with duplicity: from spice traders to one of the world's most popular sports. 2026 World Cup: North America A mix of veterans and newcomers will represent the United States at the World Cup A spice steeped in dark history A nutmeg is the seed of an evergreen tree. The outside of a nutmeg is somewhat yellow and looks similar to a walnut. (Don't forget this — it will be important later.) The fruit is native to the Banda Islands, a small archipelago in eastern Indonesia, according to Michael Krondl, a food historian. Due to the rarity of the nutmeg, "it was one of the most valu...