Mumblety-peg
Mumblety-peg (also known as mumblepeg, mumble-the-peg, mumbledepeg
or mumble-de-peg) is an old outdoor game played by children using
pocketknives. 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. 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. The game continued as a
popular activity at summer camps into the 1970s. It has gained
popularity in South Dakota over the years.
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.
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 laying 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.
Mark Twain's book Tom Sawyer,
Detective recounts mumblety-peg as one of boys' favorite outdoor
games.
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