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tangly

 [tang-guhl]   Origin

tan·gle

1   [tang-guhl] verb, -gled, -gling, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to bring together into a mass of confusedly interlaced or intertwisted threads, strands, or other like parts; snarl.
2.
to involve in something that hampers, obstructs, or overgrows: The bushes were tangled with vines.
3.
to catch and hold in or as if in a net or snare.
verb (used without object)
4.
to be or become tangled.
5.
Informal. to come into conflict; fight or argue: I don't want to tangle with him over the new ruling.

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Tangly is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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noun
6.
a tangled condition or situation.
7.
a tangled or confused mass or assemblage of something.
8.
a confused jumble: a tangle of contradictory statements.
9.
Informal. a conflict; disagreement: He got into a tangle with the governor.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English tangilen, tagilen to entangle < Scandinavian; compare Swedish (dial.) taggla to disarrange

Related forms
tan·gle·ment, noun
tan·gler, noun
tan·gly, adverb

Synonyms
8. snarl, net, labyrinth, maze.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To tangly
Collins
World English Dictionary
tangle1 (ˈtæŋɡəl)
 
—n
1.  a confused or complicated mass of hairs, lines, fibres, etc, knotted or coiled together
2.  a complicated problem, condition, or situation
 
—vb (often foll by with)
3.  to become or cause to become twisted together in a confused mass
4.  to come into conflict; contend: to tangle with the police
5.  (tr) to involve in matters which hinder or confuse: to tangle someone in a shady deal
6.  (tr) to ensnare or trap, as in a net
 
[C14 tangilen, variant of tagilen, probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Swedish dialect taggla to entangle]
 
'tanglement1
 
—n
 
'tangler1
 
—n
 
'tangly1
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tangle
mid-14c., nasalized variant of tagilen "to involve in a difficult situation, entangle," from a Scand. source (cf. dialectal Swed. taggla "to disorder," O.N. þongull "seaweed"). In ref. to material things, from c.1500. Meaning "to fight with" is Amer.Eng., first recorded 1928. The noun is first
EXPAND
recorded 1615, "a tangled condition." Tanglefoot (1859) was Western Amer.Eng. slang for "strong whiskey."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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