English edit

Noun edit

foul anchor (plural foul anchors)

  1. (nautical) An anchor which has become entangled or caught up in something, or an image of this.
    • 1978, Iris Murdoch, The Sea, The Sea, Vintage, published 1999, page 13:
      One stone in particular attracts me. It bears a beautiful ‘foul anchor’ and the simple inscription: Dummy 1879-1918.