# mouthful of marbles

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/mouthful-of-marbles
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

An indistinct, muffled or garbled manner of speaking.

## Examples

- He sounds like he has a mouthful of marbles.
- I could not understand his presentation because he spoke like he had a mouthful of marbles.
- The actor mumbled his lines with a mouthful of marbles, leaving the audience confused about the plot.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.