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A patient in euphoric mood felt as if he were humming the sound 'Mm …'. Analysis showed that this stood for the fantasy of being at the mother's breast. 'Mm …' is the only sound which it is possible to make while still keeping something safely in the mouth. The word Mama—like many other words for mother and breast—is built round it. The sound also duplicates the pleasant labial sensations associated with the act of nursing.