Mumblety peg

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. 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.

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.

ee also

* The knife game

External links

* [http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/games/beard/mumbly_peg.htm How To Play Mumbly Peg (different version than described above)]
* [http://crookedlakereview.com/articles/67_100/97april1996/97rezelman.html Of Pocketknives and Mumbledy-Peg] by John Rezelman
* [http://www.pressbin.com/clips/DT_04-04_Not_Too_Sharp.html 'Not Too Sharp' - Delaware Today] by Shaun Gallagher


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  • 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… …   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

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