Nutmegged

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. To have effectively navigated past an adversary in a sport by passing a ball between their legs
2. To have skillfully deceived an opponent during a game by executing a precise pass through their legs
3. Successfully sent the ball through an opponent's legs during play ; cleverly outwitted a rival with a skillful tactic

Etymology: The past form of "nutmeg" is the familiar part here, but the noun it comes from is older and stranger than the sporting sense suggests. It began in Middle English as "notemege" or "notemuge", a partial translation of the Medieval Latin "nux muga", itself a variant of "nux muscata", meaning "musky nut". The spice was named for its scent, not for any connection to a nut's shape or to the sport. The verb was later applied to the game. To nutmeg someone is to play the ball through the gap between their legs, and the idea seems to be that the ball slips through a space as small and neat as a spice passing through a grater. The word's path from a fragrant seed to a schoolyard taunt runs entirely through the sense of a small, precise gap.