snarl up
Completely tangle up
To snarl up is to tangle or become entangled, creating confusion or blockage.
Traffic snarls up during rush hour; bureaucratic procedures snarl up applications.
A snarl-up is the resulting mess: There's been a terrible snarl-up on the motorway.
More common in British than American English, where traffic jam or bottleneck often substitute.
congestion
Complete mutual obstruction
- traffic jamRoadway backup of vehicles
- bottleneckConstriction limiting throughput
- tailbackCongested vehicle queue
- logjamObstruction halting flow
standstill · backup · blockage · jam-up · bumper-to-bumper · crawling · stalled · chokepoint
gridlock
Complete mutual obstruction
- traffic jamRoadway backup of vehicles
- bottleneckConstriction limiting throughput
- tailbackCongested vehicle queue
logjam · standstill · backup · blockage · jam-up · bumper-to-bumper · crawling · stalled · chokepoint · rush-hour
tangle
Twisted mass of strands
mess up · foul up · embroil · enmesh · snag · bungle · disorder · jumble · mix-up · scramble