| Action that makes bad situations worse, and this puzzle's theme |
| Difficult-choice situations |
| Like some bad situations |
| Bad situations |
| Situations where one person's gain is another's loss |
| Emergency situations |
| Bothersome situations |
| Knotty |
| Like some situations |
| Blind situations |
| Unruly situations |
| Crucial situations |
| Disordered situations |
| Tournament situations |
| Calamitous situations |
| Tourney situations |
| Chaotic situations |
| Knotty neckwear |
| Confusing situations |
| Nerve-racking situations |
| Knotty hobby |
| Thorny situations |
| Dramatic situations |
| Knotty protuberance |
| Tense court situations |
| Twisted and knotty |
| Lose-lose situations |
| Traffic situations |
| Knotty attire |
| Like weightless situations in space, briefly |