fall foul
To collide; to conflict with; to attack (+ on, of, upon)
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Be careful not to fall foul of the school rules.”
“The company had to change its marketing strategy after it fell foul of local advertising regulations.”
“The young politician realized that his controversial speech had caused him to fall foul of the party leadership, effectively ending his career.”
- 01
catch a falling knife
To buy a financial instrument whose price is falling rapidly.
- 02
cry foul
To protest about something which appears to be unjust.
- 03
fall apart
To be emotionally in crisis.
- 04
fall around
To fall over continually, especially through drunkenness, clumsiness, or incompetence.
- 05
fall asleep
To be affected by paresthesia; to go numb.
- 06
fall at the last hurdle
To fail near the end of an activity, a project, etc.
- 07
fall behind
To be late (for a regular event)
- 08
fall between the cracks
To wind up in an unexpected situation which is, inadvertently, invisible to or not handled by whatever process one had hoped to be subject to; to be overlooked.
Last updated August 10, 2026