Bungled
verb – past of bungle
to act or work clumsily and awkwardly
Source: Merriam-Webster
“My words bungled out thick as molasses.”
From “The Bell Jar”, by Sylvia Plath – chapter 4
The word describes how Esther told the person knocking on the door to wait a minute. She was feeling sick in the bathroom and wasn’t feeling strong enough to speak properly, so she had to mumble.
