had been tangling

• past perfect progressive

  past perfect progressive

  Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.

  of tangle.
  tangle

  verb (used with object)

  to bring together into a mass of confusedly interlaced or intertwisted threads, strands, or other like parts; snarl.

Related Words

• confuse
• embroil
• enmesh
• entangle
• perplex
• snarl
• tie up
• trap