The Collaborative International Dictionary
Tangle \Tan"gle\, n.
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[Cf. Icel. [thorn]["o]ngull. See Tang seaweed.] (Bot.) Any large blackish seaweed, especially the Laminaria saccharina. See Kelp.
Coral and sea fan and tangle, the blooms and the palms of the ocean.
--C. Kingsley. [From Tangle, v.] A knot of threads, or other thing, united confusedly, or so interwoven as not to be easily disengaged; a snarl; as, hair or yarn in tangles; a tangle of vines and briers. Used also figuratively.
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pl. An instrument consisting essentially of an iron bar to which are attached swabs, or bundles of frayed rope, or other similar substances, -- used to capture starfishes, sea urchins, and other similar creatures living at the bottom of the sea.
Blue tangle. (Bot.)See Dangleberry.
Tangle picker (Zo["o]l.), the turnstone. [Prov. Eng.]