mouthful of marbles

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mouthful of marbles (plural mouthfuls of marbles)

1. (idiomatic, used in similes) An indistinct, muffled or garbled manner of speaking.
   • 2001, Timothy Erickson et al., “Toxicology Update: A Rational Approach to Managing the Poisoned Patient”, in Emergency Medicine Practice, volume 3, number 8, page 5:

     Anticholinergic toxicity results in a characteristic mumbling, as if the patient is trying to quickly recite a haiku with a mouthful of marbles.