the.com/foul
The rule that lets games pretend contact is an accident, within limits.
means Dirty, rotten, or against the rules — something that violates basic standards of fairness, cleanliness, or decency.
from From Old English 'fūl,' meaning rotten, filthy, or foul-smelling — going back to a very old Germanic root also behind 'filth' and 'defile.' That root is possibly a distant cousin of the Latin 'pus,' both tracing back to a Proto-Indo-European idea of rottenness and decay. The sports sense (a foul ball, a foul in basketball) is a much later narrowing — taking the old notion of 'unfair, improper, against the rules' and giving it a whistle.
- origin
- from Old English ful, meaning rotten or filthy
- baseball twist
- a foul ball can still be caught for an out
- basketball quirk
- six personal fouls and you foul out entirely
- soccer nuance
- a foul can be fair play if advantage is given