tie-up

Noun

tie-up (plural tie-ups)

1. A temporary interruption or cessation of a normal activity.
   • The tie-up hit at the height of the wheat harvest and trade spokesmen said any delays in moving the grain to storage could be disastrous.1964 June 16, “Surprise Strike Stops Traffic On 6 Railroads”, in The Indianapolis Star, volume 62, number 11, Indianapolis, Ind., page 3
2. The act of tying up (or immobilizing) a capital.
   • Goods values increase as businesses limit their stocks in order to reduce capital tie-up.
3. The connection of a loom's treadles to its shafts, used in combination with the threading and treadling to create a pattern.
   • Fancy tie-ups and treadlings can be designed that weave the ordinary symmetrical point twill like an 8-pointed star or some other motif.1991, Carol Strickler, editor, A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns, Interweave Press, →ISBN, page 26