Mumblety-peg

Mumblety-peg (also known as mumbley-peg, mumbly-peg,[1] mumblepeg, mumble-the-peg, mumbledepeg, mumble peg or mumble-de-peg) is an old outdoor game played using pocketknives.

[2] The term "mumblety-peg" came from the practice of putting a peg of about 2 to 3 in (5 to 8 cm) into the ground.

Here, the first player attempts to stick his knife in the ground using some unusual technique, such as behind the back or off his knee.

In the variant known as "Stretch," the object of the game is to make the other player fall over from having to spread his legs too far apart.

Play continues until one player falls or is unable to make the required stretch.

Boy Scouts playing "mumble the peg", circa 1915
Detail of George Caleb Bingham 's 1852 work The County Election , showing two boys playing a game described as mumblety-peg [ 5 ]
In one basic version of the game, a knife is embedded in the ground and players attempt to extract it using only their teeth. In other versions this is a forfeit for the loser of the game.