The Clue
Pretzel shape (4 letter answer)
The Answer
KNOT
Tags
Notes
The answer KNOT is seen frequently, appearing about once every 120 puzzles.
Related Clues
Bow
Bowline
Cluster
Gordian ___
Granny ___
Sandpiper
Windsor, for one
Bend or hitch
Board defect
Carpenter's woe
Complicated problem
Diamond hitch
Granny or bowline
Granny, e.g.
Granny or reef
Group of toads
Hitch or granny
Kind of bind
Measure of speed
Muscle problem
Nautical unit
Sailor's unit
Scout's handiwork
Sheepshank, e.g.
Shoelace problem
Small group
Speed measure
Speed unit
Stomach tightness
Tie-up
Tie the ___ (wed)
Tight tie
Windsor or sheepshank
Bad spot for a nail
Granny or half hitch
Half hitch, e.g.
Nautical unit of speed
Sea-speed limit
Ship's speed unit
Turk's-head or sheepshank
Unit of speed at sea
Word with slip or slide
Mariner's unit of speed
Nautical mile per hour
Definition
KNOT as a noun:
1. a tight cluster of people or things; "a small knot of women listened to his sermon"
2. any of various fastenings formed by looping and tying a rope (or cord) upon itself or to another rope or to another object
3. a hard cross-grained round piece of wood in a board where a branch emerged; "the saw buckled when it hit a knot"
4. (knot, gnarl) = something twisted and tight and swollen; "their muscles stood out in knots"; "the old man's fists were two great gnarls"; "his stomach was in knots"
5. (nautical mile, mile, mi, naut mi, knot, international nautical mile, air mile) = a unit of length used in navigation; equivalent to the distance spanned by one minute of arc in latitude; 1,852 meters
6. (slub, knot, burl) = soft lump or unevenness in a yarn; either an imperfection or created by design
7. (knot, greyback, grayback, Calidris canutus) = a sandpiper that breeds in the arctic and winters in the southern hemisphere
KNOT as a verb:
1. make into knots; make knots out of; "She knotted der fingers"
2. tie or fasten into a knot; "knot the shoelaces"
3. (ravel, tangle, knot) = tangle or complicate; "a ravelled story"