The problem of untangling ropes (5)
I believe the answer is:
poser
'the problem' is the definition.
(poser is a kind of problem)
'untangling ropes' is the wordplay.
'untangling' indicates an anagram.
'ropes' with letters rearranged gives 'POSER'.
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for poser that I've seen before include "Question - a sitter" , "Hard question" , "Someone behaving so as to be noticed" , "Show-off" , "question master?" .)