a tangled web = a tangled skein

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to give me your considered opinion concerning the interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentences?

Oh, what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive. (W. Scott)

a tangled web = a tangled skein = tangle, tangled cobweb

The older we get, and the more we know of life, the more it resembles a tangled skein.

V.

[J&K Tutoring]

It means that, once we start to tell lies, we have to keep telling more and bigger lies, until the whole thing becomes too complicated for us to keep staight, and we get caught like a fly in the mess we've made.