tie in knots

present singular third person ties in knots · participle present tying in knots · participle past tied in knots · past tied in knots · alternative tie up in knots

1. idiomatictransitiveTo put (someone) in a difficult situation.

   1 more example

   That is where [Andrew] Cuomo’s unravelling began, with the revelation – admitted in part by his top aide, Melissa DeRosa, to state lawmakers – that the administration suppressed the number of nursing home deaths by several thousand in order to avoid a federal inquiry. DeRosa claimed the move was made to avoid Donald Trump tying them up in knots, but it sounded suspiciously like a cover-up.

   2021 March 14, Ed Pilkington, “A year of living dangerously: how Andrew Cuomo fell from grace”, in The Observer

2. idiomatictransitiveTo make (someone) upset or anxious.