(slang)tangle up or confuse (someone). A humorous variation of wrap (someone) around a telegraphpole, taken from the US West where a tangled-up man in a confused condition was likened to a person, horse or cow who had run into a telegraphpole and gotten wrapped around it. It infers the situation or person needs to be untangled and straightened out. —SHSBC Binder 20 Approved Glossary