The Clue
Tough problem (4 letter answer)
The Answer
KNOT
Tags
Notes
The answer KNOT is seen frequently, appearing about once every 120 puzzles.
Related Clues
Bowline
Cluster
Gordian ___
Granny
Perplexity
Windsor, for one
1.85 kilometers/hour
Board defect
Carpenter's woe
Diamond hitch
Gordian attachment
Granny or bowline
Granny, e.g.
Granny or reef
Granny or sheepshank
Hitch or granny
Masseur's target
Measure of speed
Muscle problem
Scout's challenge
Scout's handiwork
Sheepshank or bowline
Sheepshank, e.g.
Shoelace problem
Small cluster
Stevedore's, e.g.
Windsor or sheepshank
Clove hitch, e.g.
Diamond hitch, e.g.
Half hitch, e.g.
Part of a tied tie
Ship's speed unit
Speed unit at sea
Turk's-head or sheepshank
Unit of speed at sea
Word with slip or loop
It may stop a saw
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"