Holding the ties by the top and bottom (4,4)

I believe the answer is:

both ends

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'the top and bottom' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'holding the ties' is the wordplay.
'holding' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'ties' becomes 'bonds' (bonding is a kind of tying).
'the' going into 'bonds' is 'BOTH ENDS'.

'by' is the link.

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