RANDALL FIELD, WASHINGTON, D.C. — Juan Diaz performed a nutmeg—a soccer move in which a player kicks the ball through an opponent's legs—during a pickup game at Randall Field in Washington, D.C., and followed it with a goal. The incident occurred during an informal match among local players on a recent afternoon.

Diaz, originally from Colombia, executed the move cleanly before finishing the play with a strike into the net. The defender who was nutmegged declined to be interviewed for the story.

The origins of the term "nutmeg" in soccer are debated. According to Andy Horowitz, Connecticut's state historian and history professor at the University of Connecticut, "That carries right into its usage in soccer, with the kind of shrewd maneuver of outsmarting your opponent, kicking the ball right between their legs. That could be like the ability to sell them a fake wooden nutmeg." In the 1830s, Connecticut traders known as "Yankees" allegedly sold wooden replicas mixed with real nutmegs, leading to the state’s nickname, the Nutmeg State, and associating the word with deception.

Linguists and historians remain divided on the exact etymology. Suzanne Kemmer, professor of linguistics and cognitive sciences at Rice University, said, "This is a real puzzle." She found no evidence connecting it to Cockney rhyming slang. Other theories suggest it may be a euphemism, though none have been definitively proven.

The Oxford English Dictionary cites the earliest known use of "nutmeg" in soccer from Rodney Marsh’s 1968 book, Shooting to the Top, and 1970s newspapers. In other languages, the move has different names: in French, it is called "petit pont"—"small bridge"—and in Spanish, "el caño" or "túnel." Diaz noted the Spanish terms when asked about the play afterward.