The spelling of the word "fudging mudge" can be explained using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) phonetic transcription. The first word, "fudging," is spelled with the IPA symbols /fʌdʒɪŋ/, which represents the sounds /f/ (voiceless labiodental fricative), /ʌ/ (open-mid back unrounded vowel), /dʒ/ (voiced palato-alveolar affricate), and /ɪŋ/ (unrounded tense vowel and velar nasal). The second word, "mudge," is spelled with the IPA symbols /mʌdʒ/, which represents the sounds /m/ (bilabial nasal), /ʌ/ (open-mid back unrounded vowel), and /dʒ/ (voiced palato-alveolar affricate).