bird's nest

1 :  the nest in which a bird lays eggs and hatches young

2a :  edible bird's nest; also :  a substitute used in the preparation of soup b :  any of several dishes commonly containing nuts or fruit (such as an apple dumpling or a cobbler)

3 :  any of several plants having a real or fancied resemblance to a bird's nest; especially :  wild carrot

4 :  crow's nest 1a

5a :  a snarl of fishing line at the reel :  backlash b :  a mass of tangled hair If the younger girl's hair was a bird's nest of tangles, her choice of clothing torn blue jeans and an oversized sweater spotted with burrs and prickly seeds, it was simply because she was endlessly active. — Charles de Lint, Memory and Dream, 1994 Irie … turned up for her appointment three-thirty on the dot, … a headscarf disguising the bird's nest of her hair, her right hand carefully placed upon her stomach. — Zadie Smith, White Teeth, 2000