tie in knots
To put (someone) in a difficult situation.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“His confusing questions tie me in knots.”
“The complex tax forms always tie me in knots when I try to finish them every April.”
“The lawyer used a series of contradictory statements to tie the witness in knots during the long cross-examination.”
- 01
balloon knot
The anus.
- 02
fit to be tied
Very agitated or distressed; also, very angry; enraged, furious.
- 03
get one's knickers in a knot
Synonym of get one's knickers in a twist.
- 04
get one's shorts in a knot
Synonym of get one's knickers in a twist.
- 05
have one's hands tied
To be powerless to act, to be thwarted.
- 06
Peckham Rye
[Cockney slang]tie
- 07
statistical tie
A situation in which the difference in popularity of two options in a poll is less than the margin of error.
- 08
tie in
To fit in or harmonize (with something).
Last updated August 10, 2026