English Reference
Idiom idiom

mouthful of marbles


An indistinct, muffled or garbled manner of speaking.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

He sounds like he has a mouthful of marbles.

CONTEXTUAL

I could not understand his presentation because he spoke like he had a mouthful of marbles.

COMPLEX

The actor mumbled his lines with a mouthful of marbles, leaving the audience confused about the plot.


Related idioms2entries
  1. 01

    all the marbles

    everything; all that is to be had.

  2. 02

    pick up one's marbles and go home

    To abruptly leave or abandon a situation or activity in which one is dissatisfied with the way it is progressing.

Last updated August 10, 2026