petljati

1. colloq. (petljati oko + gen.) to fiddle; to fumble
   Šta toliko petljaš oko te brave? — Why are you fiddling with that lock for so long?
   Ceo dan petlja oko starog auta. — He spends all day tinkering with the old car.
2. colloq. to be evasive; to beat around the bush
   Nemoj da petljaš, reci mi istinu. — Stop beating around the bush and tell me the truth.
3. colloq. (petljati se u + acc.) to meddle; to get mixed up in
   Ne petljaj se u moje stvari! — Stay out of my business!
   Nije hteo da se petlja u politiku. — He didn't want to get mixed up in politics.
4. colloq. (petljati s + instr.) to be involved with; to mess around with
   Priča se da petlja sa koleginicom. — Rumor has it he's messing around with a colleague.
5. (thread, cables; matters) to tangle; to muddle; to complicate
   Nemoj da petljaš kablove, posle ih niko neće razmrsiti. — Don't tangle the cables, no one will be able to untangle them later.
   Ne petljaj stvari dodatno, ionako je sve komplikovano. — Don't complicate things further, it's all complicated enough as it is.

In the sense "to meddle" it takes se: petljati se u nešto.