(pronounced eh-FOWL-uv)

Here’s a very concise way to say that one (hopefully not you) has gotten himself into conflict, collision or entanglement with something or someone. The phrase is most commonly used with the verb “run.”

EXAMPLE: Without realizing it, the design team had run afoul of the latest patient privacy laws in their layout for the clinic prototype they developed for and presented to the company’s board of directors and facility management team.