"What does 'tying me up' mean?" We use this phrase (also "to be tied up") when something is occupying our time and attention, and we can't do anything else for a while... as if we were literally tied up with rope. ;) If you come home late, you can explain that you were tied up at work. If your colleague can't help you at the moment, maybe another task is tying him/her up.

If someone is tying you up, they are using something (like rope) to restrain you. When you tie something up, you fasten string or rope round it so that it is firm or secure.If someone ties you up, they put rope (or something like that) around you, usually so you can't move. I think the equivalent might be يَرْبُطُ perhaps?

The past tense is actually used more frequently: "At the moment that the solicitor rang the door bell, he was tied up on the phone." "The boss went looking for the tardy employee, but he was all tied up with a customer." Note that the second example uses the optional "all", which adds nothing and is best avoided. Also, the preposition after "tied up" varies and could be problematic in some cases: "tied up up the street." But that's what happens when you use an idiom like "tied up" instead of simply saying "busy"!!