Definition of the word foul up

The term "foul up" originated in sports, specifically in golf, during the late 1800s or early 1900s. It initially referred to hitting the ball into a hazard, such as a sand trap or a water hazard, resulting in a penalty stroke. In golf, the term "fowl" was commonly used to describe a ball that landed in the proper rough but in a notably unlucky manner, such as being surrounded by thick vegetation or wire cuttings that made it difficult to play. The term "foul" was used to describe a ball hit into a hazard or out of bounds. Some say that golfers began using the term "foul up" to describe an especially bad hit, even one that was not necessarily a penalty stroke. The term caught on and eventually made its way into everyday language to describe any situation or action that results in a major mistake or mishap. The first recorded use of "foul up" outside of a golf context appears in a 1944 newspaper article discussing the effects of government-imposed wage and price controls during World War II.