It is a reminder that, were Scots to back independence, this would mark the beginning and not the end of a long, tortuous process of negotiation between the Scottish and Westminster governments - over currency, the monarchy, the armed forces, North Sea oil revenues, pension rights and much more besides.

BBC: Scottish independence: Does it take two to separate?

The whole tortuous tale shows that it is not true that the commission is indifferent to fraud.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

But for those who must navigate not the seas or the stars, but our tortuous civil justice system, the term conjures epic nightmares.

FORBES: America's True Growth Industry: Legal Discovery

In a statement, the company said it "has demanded that Wachovia and Wells Fargo terminate and not proceed with any proposed transaction, " citing tortuous interference with an exclusivity agreement.

FORBES: Magazine Article

But after seven years of tortuous negotiations, say the Palestinians, so limited an accord is simply not on.

ECONOMIST: Dark shadows over Israel and Palestine

Thirty Are Better Than One is not really about the Mona Lisa or even about art, but rather concerns the tortuous relationship between culture and media, a relationship beginning to play out in his own life as he became the first meta-celebrity.

FORBES: If Every Artist Were As Good As Andy Warhol, Forgery Would Be Unnecessary [Book Excerpt]

Air France-KLM and Alitalia may not be the best of friends, following the Franco-Dutch carrier's tortuous failed attempt to acquire its near-bankrupt Italian rival earlier this year, but on Tuesday Silvio Berlusconi extended an olive branch to keep the carriers on good terms.

FORBES: LONDON

This complaint, and the unusual decision not to order a prototype, will be thoroughly rehearsed as the tender makes its way through the tortuous procedures required by the German Bundestag.

ECONOMIST: European armaments