nutmeg

Everyday

1. A brown spice made by grating the hard seed of a tropical tree, used in cakes, custard and drinks. tree →
2. (football slang, UK) To nutmeg someone is to kick the ball between their legs and run past them; the trick itself is called a nutmeg (or megs). tree →

In the lessons

In cooking, nutmeg goes in rice pudding, pumpkin pie and eggnog. In history, nutmeg came from the Banda Islands in Indonesia and was once worth more than gold, so countries fought over it. In playground football, a nutmeg is a cheeky trick. Phrases: grated nutmeg, megs!

Examples

• Sprinkle a little nutmeg on the custard. tree →
• Nutmeg was once so valuable that people fought wars over it. tree →
• Grandma grates nutmeg into her rice pudding. tree →
• He nutmegged the defender and scored! tree →
• The crowd cheered the nutmeg. tree →
• Too much nutmeg can make you ill, so use only a pinch. tree →

Note

The spice is uncountable (some nutmeg); a whole seed is countable (a nutmeg). Verb doubles g: nutmegged. Despite its name, nutmeg is a seed, not a true nut.