Mumblety-peg

Mumblety-peg (also known as mumbley-peg, mumblepeg, mumble-the-peg, mumbledepeg or mumble-de-peg) is an old outdoor game played by children using pocketknives.^[1] The term "Mumblety-peg" came from the practice of putting a peg of about 2 or 3 inches into the ground. The loser of the game had to take it out with his teeth. ^[2] Mumbletypeg was very popular as a schoolyard game in the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries, but with increased concern over child safety the game has declined in popularity. Mark Twain's book Tom Sawyer, Detective recounts "mumbletypeg" as one of boys' favorite outdoor games.^[3] The game continued as a popular activity at summer camps into the 1970s.

Overview

Mumblety peg is generally played between two people with the aid of a pocket knife. In one version of the game, two opponents stand opposite one another with their feet shoulder-width apart. The first player then takes the knife and throws it to "stick" in the ground as near his own foot as possible. The second player then repeats the process. Whichever player "sticks" the knife closest to his own foot wins the game.

If a player "sticks" the knife in his own foot, he wins the game by default, although few players find this option appealing because of the possibility of bodily harm. The game combines not only precision in the knife-throwing, but also a good deal of bravado and proper assessment of one's own skills.

Variants

A variant of mumblety peg has evolved as a drinking game where several matches of mumblety peg are played successively. At the end of each, the loser must take a penalty—generally taking a shot of alcohol. Consequently, the precision with which the knife is thrown often decreases as the game progresses. Whichever player backs away from the game first is declared the loser.

Another variant of the game called Split or Split the Kipper involves each player throwing the knife at the other player.

Mumbletypeg involves tossing a pocketknife into the ground in a progressively more difficult competition usually limited to two players. If the knife tossed by a player does not stick in the bare ground, the player loses his/her turn. Beyond these basics, the rules varied greatly according to location. In South Dakota, the first player to win makes a "peg" and hammers it into the ground,(using ten hits with the blade or three hits with the handle) at which the losing player must dig out of the ground with his teeth.

Some versions of the game involved a series of about a dozen progressively more difficult trick tosses. For example, after first tossing the knife right and left for a 1/2-turn in the air from the open palm of each hand, the next step is to toss it similarly from the closed fist of each upward-turned hand. The third turn, with the knife lying on the back of the hand pointing away from the player, is to flip it up 270 degrees and down into the dirt. Fourth was "Spank the Baby": holding the blade flat between the first two fingers of one hand, the knife handle was "spanked" with the other hand causing the knife to flip up 270 degrees and stick into the ground. The knife had to always stick into the ground securely enough to put two fingers (or a beer can) under it. "Tip of the fingers" was another turn, with the knife being required to stick in the ground after doing a somersault off the tip of each index finger (and thumb, to hold the tip), and a subsequent turn was "Tony Chestnut" where the knife was similarly flipped off the toe, the knee, the chest and the forehead (nut). Another turn was "Over the fence". The knife was just barely stuck into the ground, leaning over to the right or left. The player's free hand made a "fence" and the knife was slapped up and "over the fence" with the other hand. It had to flip completely at least once, then come down sticking in the ground with the accepted "two fingers" clearance. In some versions, this turn was last, called "Over the Fence is Out" and the winner was the player who got "over the fence" first. Another trial was standing with the knife in one's hand, tip pointing away, then throwing the knife over one's head backwards and having it stick in the ground.

See also

• The knife game

Another version is to toss the knife into the ground between the feet of the opposing player. If the knife sticks in the ground, when removing the knife, that player moves their feet closer together at the point where the knife was stuck. The game ends when there is no room between a plyers feet, or when a play concedes a loss to end the game. If the knife sticks into the foot (preferably shoe or boot) of the opposing player, the thrower loses the round.

References

1. ^ Newell, W.W. (2010). Games and Songs of American Children. Nabu Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-1145393226. 
2. ^ "Old Schoolyard Games". Forest Preserve District of Cook County (Illinois). Newton/ANL. http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/200-299/nb287.htm. Retrieved 23 August 2010. 
3. ^ Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer, Detective Pg. 1

External links

• How To Play Mumbly Peg (different version than described above)
• Of Pocketknives and Mumbledy-Peg by John Rezelman
• 'Not Too Sharp' - Delaware Today by Shaun Gallagher
• Dialect Survey Results: Mumblety-peg List naming variations for the game.
• "Pocket Knife Games Were Popular Pastimes" by Glenn Tunney described a game called “Pocket Knife Baseball”

This game-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Games of physical skill Game stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат Mumble-Jumble Mumble (software) Look at other dictionaries: Mumblety peg — Mumblety peg, also known as mumblepeg and mumble the peg, is an old game generally played between two people with the aid of a pocket knife. In one version of the game, two opponents stand opposite one another with their feet shoulder width apart …   Wikipedia mumblety-peg — (n.) boys knife throwing game, 1650s, originally mumble the peg (1620s), of unknown signification and origin …   Etymology dictionary Mumblety peg — Mumbledy peg Mum ble*dy peg , Mumblety peg Mum ble*ty peg , n. A game played with a pocketknife, the object of which is to throw the knife in any of a vairety of ways (such as over the back), or from various positions, and have it stick in the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English mumblety-peg — mum·ble·ty peg (mŭmʹbəl tē pĕg , blē pĕg ) also mum·ble the peg ( bəl thə ) n. A game in which players toss a jackknife in various prescribed ways, with the object being to make the blade stick firmly into the ground.   [From the phrase mumble… …   Universalium mumblety-peg — also mumble the peg or mumble peg noun Etymology: from the phrase mumble the peg; from the loser s originally having to pull out with his teeth a peg driven into the ground Date: 1627 a game in which the players try to flip a knife from various… …   New Collegiate Dictionary mumblety-peg — /ˈmʌmbəlti pɛg/ (say mumbuhltee peg) noun a game in which a knife is thrown into the ground from various positions, failure to make the knife stick in the ground resulting in disqualification. Also, mumble the peg. {from the phrase mumble the peg …   mumblety-peg — [ mʌmb(ə)lti] noun chiefly US a game in which each player in turn throws a knife or pointed stick from a series of positions, continuing until it fails to stick in the ground. Origin C17: from mumble in sense 2, from the requirement of the game… …   English new terms dictionary mumblety-peg — mum·ble·ty peg …   English syllables mumblety-peg — noun a game in which players throw or flip a jackknife in various ways so that the knife sticks in the ground • Syn: ↑mumble the peg • Hypernyms: ↑child s game …   Useful english dictionary mumblety peg — noun /ˈmʌmb(ə)ltiˌpɛɡ/ Any of several forms of a game in which a jackknife is thrown so that it sticks into the ground close to the players feet. Others played mumbletypeg with rusty stolen jackknives, or simply drowsed in the sunlight, waking… …   Wiktionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”