To fall foul

Foul \Foul\ (foul), a. [Compar. Fouler (-[~e]r); superl.
   {Foulest}.] [OE. foul, ful, AS. f[=u]l; akin to D. vuil, G.
   faul rotten, OHG. f[=u]l, Icel. f[=u]l foul, fetid; Dan.
   fuul, Sw. ful foul, Goth. f[=u]ls fetid, Lith. puti to be
   putrid, L. putere to stink, be putrid, pus pus, Gr. py`on
   pus, to cause to rot, Skr. p[=u]y to stink. [root]82. Cf.
   {Defile} to foul, {File} to foul, {Filth}, {Pus}, {Putrid}.]
   1. Covered with, or containing, extraneous matter which is
      injurious, noxious, offensive, or obstructive; filthy;
      dirty; not clean; polluted; nasty; defiled; as, a foul
      cloth; foul hands; a foul chimney; foul air; a ship's
      bottom is foul when overgrown with barnacles; a gun
      becomes foul from repeated firing; a well is foul with
      polluted water.
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            My face is foul with weeping.         --Job. xvi.
                                                  16.
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   2. Scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive; as, foul words;
      foul language.
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   3. Hateful; detestable; shameful; odious; wretched. "The foul
      with Sycorax." --Shak.
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            Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?
                                                  --Milton.
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   4. Loathsome; disgusting; as, a foul disease.
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   5. Ugly; homely; poor. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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            Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares.
                                                  --Shak.
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   6. Not favorable; unpropitious; not fair or advantageous; as,
      a foul wind; a foul road; cloudy or rainy; stormy; not
      fair; -- said of the weather, sky, etc.
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            So foul a sky clears not without a storm. --Shak.
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   7. Not conformed to the established rules and customs of a
      game, conflict, test, etc.; unfair; dishonest;
      dishonorable; cheating; as, foul play.
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   8. Having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or
      entanglement; entangled; -- opposed to {clear}; as, a rope
      or cable may get foul while paying it out.
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   {Foul anchor}. (Naut.) See under {Anchor}.

   {Foul ball} (Baseball), a ball that first strikes the ground
      outside of the foul ball lines, or rolls outside of
      certain limits.

   {Foul ball lines} (Baseball), lines from the home base,
      through the first and third bases, to the boundary of the
      field.

   {Foul berth} (Naut.), a berth in which a ship is in danger of
      fouling another vesel.

   {Foul bill}, or {Foul bill of health}, a certificate, duly
      authenticated, that a ship has come from a place where a
      contagious disorder prevails, or that some of the crew are
      infected.

   {Foul copy}, a rough draught, with erasures and corrections;
      -- opposed to fair or clean copy. "Some writers boast of
      negligence, and others would be ashamed to show their foul
      copies." --Cowper.

   {Foul proof}, an uncorrected proof; a proof containing an
      excessive quantity of errors.

   {Foul strike} (Baseball), a strike by the batsman when any
      part of his person is outside of the lines of his
      position.

   {To fall foul}, to fall out; to quarrel. [Obs.] "If they be
      any ways offended, they fall foul." --Burton.

   {To fall foul of} or {To run foul of}. See under {Fall}.

   {To make foul water}, to sail in such shallow water that the
      ship's keel stirs the mud at the bottom.
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