Foul (nautical) Foul (nautical) Foul is a nautical term meaning to entangle or entwine, and more generally that something is wrong or difficult. The term dates back to usage with wind-driven sailing ships. It is usually applied to the state of an anchor, which has become hooked on some impediment on the seafloor, or has its cable wound round the stock or flukes. The term is generally utilized when speaking of items of historical value such as the US Navy chief petty officer emblem. The foul anchor is also the official seal of the Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom, presently
Nautical fiction inhabitants who are deranged, frivolous, or oblivious, and seemingly ignorant of their course. The concept makes up the framework of the 15th century book which served as the inspiration for Hieronymous Bosch's famous painting, "Ship of Fools": a ship—an entire fleet at first—sets off from Basel, bound for the Paradise of Fools. A distinction between nautical fiction and other fiction merely using the sea as a setting or backdrop is an investment in nautical detail. Luis Iglesias describes James Fenimore Cooper's use in "" of nautical language and "faithful [...] descriptions of nautical maneuvers and the vernacular expression of seafaring