Questions about example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "Afoul"

A: afoul means you are in conflict with or having difficulties with someone

A: @EmonHasan "To afoul" literally means "to be into conflict with something or to have difficult with something". I mean, the question could be written too: "have you ever been into conflict with the British law?" or "Have you ever had any difficulty with British law?"

A: Afoul is an adverb, and means that something was done in a way that crashes into or tangles something else, literally (it’s from sailing - “that boat is in trouble with its jib and main lines afoul”) or more commonly metaphorically (“She has run afoul of the law more than once”).

Foul is an adjective. “What is that foul odor??”

A: If you run afoul of something, it means you get into trouble with it. It's a bit like a ship crashing into some rocks it didn't see beneath the water. So if you run afoul of local laws, for example, it means you didn't know about them but then you broke them and got into trouble.