Tied up in knots (5)

I think it could be either:

Which length description are you looking for?:

tense

'tied up in knots' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

This is all the clue.

(Other definitions for tense that I've seen before include "past, say" , "Strained by time in grammar" , "Maybe future" , "edgy" , "Suffering from strain" .)

I've seen this clue in the Newsday and the LA Times.

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