trinkle

With the cold weather, it was advisable to leave the faucet open in the kitchen to allow a small flow of water. But the speaker added, “but just a trinkle!” This is a one word blend congruent conflation malaphor of “trickle” and “sprinkle”, both meaning just a little. “Tinkle” might also be in the mix. I will state for the record that “trinkle” is a rare, Scottish word but is archaic and not used. Therefore I have determined this is a bonafide malaphor. A big thank you to Patti Palladino for uttering this beauty and Skip Kennedy for reporting it to Malaphor Central.