Significado: afoul

adj. emaranhado, confuso

fou Idioma

foul up

ruin or spoil by stupid mistake, go wrong There was a problem with our tickets so our plans were all fouled up.

found money

money found on the street, money saved by nature Wind power is like found money. I save what I paid for electricity.

found out

discovered, caught If you cheat on the exam, you'll be found out. They'll see you.

four-letter word

bad word, profanity: damn, hell, shit etc. He gave a good speech, but he used a lot of four-letter words.

on all fours

on one's hands and knees The man was down on all fours in the store looking for the keys to his car.

ten-four

I understand you. "Ten-four", he said when his friend asked him if he understood the plan.

ten-four (CB radio)

yes, I hear you, okay """See you in Memphis, big fella."" ""Ten-four, good buddy."""

four

see '64

four-five

45 caliber gun

four-one-one

the inside scoop:"What's the 411 on her?"

fourty-fo'

a forty-four automatic handgun

lost-and-found

Idiom(s): lost-and-found

Theme: LOSS

an office or department that handles items that someone has lost that have been found by someone. (Each item is both lost by someone and found by someone. Fixed order.)
• The lost-and-found office had an enormous collection of umbrellas and four sets of false teeth!
• I found a book on the seat of the bus. I turned it in to the driver, who gave it to the lost-and-found office.

fouled up

Idiom(s): fouled up

Theme: CONFUSION

messed up.
• My fishing line is all fouled up.
• The football team got fouled up and lost the game.

foul one's own nest

Idiom(s): foul one's own nest

Theme: HARM

to harm one's own interests; to bring disadvantage upon oneself.
• He tried to discredit a fellow senator with the president, but just succeeded in fouling his own nest.
• The boss really dislikes Mary. She certainly fouled her own nest when she spread those rumors about him.

foul play

Idiom(s): foul play

Theme: CRIME

illegal activity; bad practices.
• The police investigating the death suspect foul play.
• Each student got an A on the test, and the teacher imagined it was the result of foul play.

fall afoul of

Idiom(s): fall afoul of someone or something AND run afoul of someone or something

Theme: OPPOSITION

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

run afoul of

The best advice is found on the pillow.

After a good night's sleep we may find an answer to our problem.

Four corners of the earth

If something goes to, or comes from, the four corners of the earth, it goes or comes absolutely everywhere.

Four-eyes

A person who wears glasses

Four-square behind

If someone stands four-square behind someone, they give that person their full support.

Fourth estate

This is an idiomatic way of describing the media, especially the newspapers.

No harm, no foul

There's no problem when no harm or damage is done, such as the time my sister-in-law stole the name we'd chosen for a boy and we both ended up having girls.

Scattered to the four winds

If something's scattered to the four winds, it goes out in all directions.

Sixty-four-thousand-dollar-question

The sixty-four-thousand-dollar-question is the most important question that can be asked about something.

Twenty-four seven

Twenty-four seven or 24/7 means all the time, coming from 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

afoul of|afoul

prep. 1. In collision with. The boat ran afoul of a buoy. 2. In or into trouble with. The thief ran afoul of the night watchman. Speeders can expect to fall afoul of the law sometimes.

foul ball|ball|foul

n. A batted baseball that lands outside the foul line. Mickey hit a long foul ball that landed on the roof.

foul line|foul|line

n. 1. Either of two lines separating fair from foul ground in baseball. Willie hit the ball just inside the foul line for a double. 2. A line across the upper end of a bowling alley across which a bowler must not step. John bowled a strike but it didn't count because he stepped over the foul line. 3. A line on the floor in front of the basket in basketball, from which foul shots are made. Tony scored eight points from the foul line.

foul out|foul

v. 1. To make an out in baseball by hitting a foul fly ball that is caught. He fouled out to the catcher. 2. To be forced to leave a basketball game because of getting more than the limit number of personal fouls. A professional basketball player is allowed six personal fouls before fouling out.

foul play|foul|play

n. Treachery; a criminal act (such as murder). After they discovered the dead body, the police suspected foul play. "She must have met with foul play," the chief inspector said when they couldn't find the 12-year-old girl who had disappeared.

foul shot|foul|shot

n. A free throw given in basketball to a player who has been fouled. Tony was given two foul shots when he was fouled while trying to shoot.
Compare: FIELD GOAL 2, FREE THROW.

foul up(1)|foul|foul up

v., informal 1. To make dirty. The birds fouled up his newly washed car. 2. To tangle up. He tried to throw a lasso but he got the rope all fouled up. 3. To ruin or spoil by stupid mistakes; botch. He fouled the whole play up by forgetting his part. 4. To make a mistake; to blunder. Blue suit and brown socks! He had fouled up again. 5. To go wrong. Why do some people foul up and become criminals?

foul-up(2)|foul|foul up

n. (stress on "foul") 1. informal A confused situation; confusion; mistake. The luncheon was handled with only one or two foul-ups. 2. informal A breakdown. There was a foul-up in his car's steering mechanism. 3. slang A person who fouls up or mixes things. He had gotten a reputation as a foul-up.

foundation garment|foundation|garment

n. A close-fitting garment designed for women to wear underneath their clothes to make them look slim; a piece of woman's underwear. Jane wears a foundation garment under her evening dress.

four bits|bits|four

n., slang Fifty cents. Tickets to the play are four bits," said Bill.
Compare: TWO BITS.

four corners|corners|four

n. All parts of a place. People came from the four corners of the world to see him. He has been to the four corners of the country.
Compare: ALL OVER.

four-eyes|eye|eyes|four

n., slang A person who wears glasses.

A rude expression, Hey, four-eyes, come over here.

four-leaf clover|clover|four|four-leaf

n. A small green plant with four leaves which many people think means good luck because clover plants usually have three leaves. John has a four-leaf clover in his pocket. He thinks he will have good luck now.

fourth class(1)|class|fourth|fourth class

n. A class of mail that is not sealed and weighs a pound or more, that includes things that are bought and sold and sent in the mail, and printed things that are not second or third class mail. Bill sent away 98 cereal box tops and a dollar and got back a sheriff's badge and gun in the mail by fourth class.

fourth world|fourth|world

n., informal The poor nations of the world, as distinguished from the oil-rich nations of the third world. Sri Lanka will never join OPEC, since it is a fourth world nation.

fourth-class(2)|class|fourth|fourth class

fourth-class¹ adj. Belonging to the fourth class of mail. The package weighed a pound and a half, so it had to be sent by fourth-class mail.
fourth-class² adv. By fourth-class mail. How did the company mail the package? Fourth-class.

on all fours|all fours|fours|on

adv. phr. 1. On all four legs; on hands and knees. Fido sat up to "beg" but dropped down on all fours to eat the dog biscuit Sam gave him. Billy's father got down on all fours and gave the baby a ride. 2. informal On a level of equality; of the same value. Wigs may be widely used, but they are still not on all fours with beautiful natural hair.

ten-four?|four|ten|ten-four

v. phr., interrog., slang, citizen's band radio jargon Do you understand? Is that a ten-four?

afoul

afoul
run afoul of
or fall afoul of
1) to collide with or become entangled with
2) to get into conflict or trouble with

afoul of

afoul of
see run afoul of.

foul

foul
In addition to the idioms beginning with foul, also see run afoul of.
* * *
- foul one's nest
- foul play
- foul up

foul one's nest

foul one's nest
Also, foul one's own nest. Hurt one's own interests, as in With his constant complaints about his wife, he's only fouling his own nest. This metaphoric expression transfers a bird's soiling of its nest to human behavior. [Mid-1200s]

found

found
and found
â
Informal with room and board in addition to wages
also Chiefly Brit.all found

four corners of the earth, the

four corners of the earth, the
The far ends of the world; all parts of the world. For example, Athletes came from the four corners of the earth to compete in the Olympics. This expression appeared in the Bible (Isaiah 11:12): “And gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” Although the idea that the earth is a flat plane with actual corners has long been discarded, the term has survived.