Something jumbled or confused WordNet 3.0 & Open English WordNet

In mathematics, a tangle is generally one of two related concepts: In John Conway's definition, an n-tangle is a proper embedding of the disjoint union of n arcs into a 3-ball; the embedding must send the endpoints of the arcs to 2n marked points on the ball's boundary. Wikipedia

A topological object Wikipedia Disambiguation

Something made up of many confused or conflicting elements; a tangle. Wiktionary