What is the meaning of braid

From what I gathered, Braid has extremely strong connections to the creation of the nuclear bomb. This is shown from the title screen that reveals a destoryed and burning city in the background. The italicized quote that begins with "On that moment hung eternity," is quoted directly from one of the scientists in the Manhattan project. The city of Manhattan is mentioned in the story, and so is the bunker where the first bomb was tested. How that ties in with the story I have no idea, but it's there. Another quote from one of the scientists of the Manhattan project is, "Now we are all sons of...", which is relevent to the burning city at the title screen.

As for the princess, the character finds that she is real, but (spoilers!), isn't able to be with her. Why? Maybe it's just the author's longing for a wonderful relationship, or maybe the author wanted more realistic/substantial things, like the castle he is able to build in the end. In all honestly, it's a very abiguous game.