To run foul of

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. [1913 Webster]

My face is foul with weeping. --Job. xvi. 16. [1913 Webster]

2. Scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive; as, foul words; foul language. [1913 Webster]

3. Hateful; detestable; shameful; odious; wretched. ``The foul with Sycorax.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Who first seduced them to that foul revolt? --Milton. [1913 Webster]

4. Loathsome; disgusting; as, a foul disease. [1913 Webster]

5. Ugly; homely; poor. [Obs.] --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

So foul a sky clears not without a storm. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

7. Not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.; unfair; dishonest; dishonorable; cheating; as, foul play. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

{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. [1913 Webster]