Tied up

EVENED

Think of a scoreboard where both sides are balanced after a back-and-forth struggle.

"Tied up" hints at something being made equal or balanced, like scores in a game. The word "evened" fits because it can mean leveling things out—think of "evening the score." The past tense "evened" also subtly plays on "even," which can mean tied, reinforcing the clue’s double meaning. It’s a smooth way to turn a simple phrase into a clever wordplay answer.