On a recent episode of Word of Mouth on BBC Radio 4, they discussed the interesting words children come up with. They might attempt say particular words but can’t quite manage all the sounds, or get them mixed up, sometimes with unintentionally funny results. They also get words mixed and muddled, or perhaps muddlixed.

Can you guess the title of this post refers to?

It’s an attempt at spaghetti carbonara.

Other examples from the programme include:

– Snotrils (nostrils)
– Jumpolines (trampolines)
– Hippyhoppymus (hippopotamus)
– Hockle bockle (hot water bottle)
– Suggestive biscuits (digestive biscuits)
– Alligator (escalator)

Sometimes these words get adopted as family words and continued to be used even when the children are adults.

This doesn’t just happen to children though – adults also mix up their words sometimes. A few weeks ago, for example, at one of the choirs I sing in I mentioned to a friend that the song we were learning could do with some calligraphy. She looked at me a bit confused, then we realised that I meant choreography. Hilarity ensued.

Do you have any other examples?