| 释义 |
Fast and loose
| now cohering, now disjoined; inconstant, esp. in the phrases to play at fast and loose, to play fast and loose, to act with giddy or reckless inconstancy or in a tricky manner; to say one thing and do another. | | See under Fast. |
See also: Fast, Loose fast and loose
fast and looseDescribing actions that are reckless, unreliable, irresponsible, or thoughtless. I know these tabloids play fast and loose with the truth, but they're such a guilty pleasure of mine! I can assure you that I am not playing fast and loose with him; I intend to marry him some day. If you're going to play fast and loose, go work at another firm. That's not how we operate here.See also: and, fast, looseplay fast and loose, toTo trifle with someone; to be unreliable and inconsistent. Several writers believe that this term, which dates from the sixteenth century, came from a cheating game called “fast and loose” that was played at fairs. A belt or strap was doubled and rolled up with the loop at the edge of a table. The customer had to catch the loop with a stick or skewer while the belt was unrolled, but it was so done that the feat was impossible. Shakespeare used the term figuratively in a number of plays, including Antony and Cleopatra (4.12): “Like a right gipsy, hath, at fast and loose, beguiled me to the very heart of loss.” Over the centuries, writers continued to use it for trifling with someone’s affections, as in Thackeray’s Lovel the Widower (1860): “She had played fast and loose with me.”See also: and, fast, playfast and looseNot straightforward or honest. “Fast and Loose” was the medieval equivalent of the kind of con game now found in such scams as Three Card Monte. It involved two intricately arranged cloth straps. The victim was invited to choose one loop to place a stick through, and when the loop was pulled tight, the stick would be held fast and the victim would win a wager. However, the con artist had arranged both loops in such a way that either loop came free from the stick, no matter which one the victim selected, and the victim forfeited his bet. (Variations of the game under different names continue to this day.) That's how the phrase “to play fast and loose,” meaning dishonest, came to be used by people who never played the “game.”See also: and, fast, loose |