fall (a)foul of (someone or something)

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fall (a)foul of (someone or something)

1. To become disliked or to come in conflict with someone or something due to one's actions, often resulting in further trouble or conflict. Since you're new here, be careful not to fall afoul of Bill—he'll keep you off of every case if he's mad at you. I fell foul of the committee, and now I'm not sure how to improve my reputation. Ted fell afoul of the law when he was still a kid, and he's been in and out of jail ever since.
2. obsolete In sailing, to strike the side of another ship. The two vessels, pitched and tossed as they were by the storm, fell foul of one another and sank into the cold Atlantic ocean.
See also: fall, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

fall (a)foul of someone or something

 and run (a)foul of someone or something
to get into a situation where one is opposed to someone or something; to get into trouble with someone or something. Dan fell afoul of the law at an early age. I hope that you will avoid falling afoul of the district manager. She can be a formidable enemy. I hope I don't run afoul of your sister. She doesn't like me.
See also: fall, foul, of
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

fall foul of

come into conflict with and be undermined by.
2004 Sunday Business Post Australia's biggest wine-maker, Foster's Group, is the latest company to fall foul of the wine surplus, which is set to continue for at least two years.
See also: fall, foul, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

fall foul of ˈsb/ˈsth

do something which gets you into trouble with somebody/something: They fell foul of the law by not paying their taxes. ♢ Try not to fall foul of Mr. Jones. He can be very unpleasant.
See also: fall, foul, of, Sb, sth
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
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References in periodicals archive ?
Bailey's office has worked for four years to ease some of these tension points, he said, including by helping develop Copyright Office rules, which make it tougher for companies to use copyright laws to scare off ethical hackers from searching for dangerous bugs in their software, and publishing guidance that clarifies when hackers are likely to fall afoul of the nation's major anti-hacking law, the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
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"If you are a billionaire, then that is something that obviously you can enjoy to a certain extent, but you've got to be very, very wary that you don't at any stage cross a red line of some sort and fall afoul of the Chinese Communist Party," Fergus Ryan, a cyber analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told CNN.
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It turns out to be Nawaz Sharifs greatest achievement, that by instead of achieving the greatness of his choice he has achieved the great status of a warning to those would fall afoul of the establishment.
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According to the watchdog, while motives may have a legal basis, the absence of due process, compensation or assistance fall afoul of legal standards.
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The procurement of aircraft carriers with that ability to strike foreign bases may fall afoul of that clause, but some government officials argue that the constitution doesn't expressly forbid aircraft carriers.
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The move was groundbreaking particularly given that many banks - particularly those from Europe - are still standing away from Iran's funding prospects over fears that they may fall afoul of remaining US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
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Zack Mayo is in training to become a pilot at a flying school for US Navy officers, but his perceived lack of commitment sees him fall afoul of his hardnosed drill sergeant Emil Foley who makes it his mission to break the recruit.
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The report notes that "risk and compliance departments at global banks have become more vigilant about turning down deals in China that might have political connections, and thus could fall afoul of restrictions on banks' dealings with politicians, leaving the way open for the Chinese institutions." Global bankers want to avoid charges of money laundering, tax evasion or violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by favoring Chinese business and political leaders or their relatives.
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Harvey Silverglate, a civil liberties attorney, titled his 2009 book ''Three Felonies a Day'' to indicate how easily we can fall afoul of America's metastasizing body of criminal laws.
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Supplying steel to Iran is "prohibited," while dealing with the NIOC "is very likely to fall afoul of European Union and US sanctions," Jonathan Moss, partner and head of marine and trade at law firm DWF in London, told Reuters.
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That implication seems to fall afoul of our intuitions about certain cases, such as the intuition that a world full of happy people and animals is better than a world full of miserable ones, even if the people and animals are different in the two cases, so that there is no one for whom the second world is better.
Philosophy: Vol. 89, No. 3, July 2014
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