What is "fast and loose"

Loose \Loose\ (l[=oo]s), a. [Compar. Looser (l[=oo]s"[~e]r); superl. Loosest.] [OE. loos, lous, laus, Icel. lauss; akin to OD. loos, D. los, AS. le['a]s false, deceitful, G. los, loose, Dan. & Sw. l["o]s, Goth. laus, and E. lose. [root]127. See Lose, and cf. Leasing falsehood.]

1. Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed, or confined; as, the loose sheets of a book.

   Her hair, nor loose, nor tied in formal plat.
   --Shak.

2. Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty, habit, etc.; -- with from or of.

   Now I stand Loose of my vow; but who knows Cato's thoughts ?
   --Addison.

3. Not tight or close; as, a loose garment.

4. Not dense, close, compact, or crowded; as, a cloth of loose texture.

   With horse and chariots ranked in loose array.
   --Milton.

5. Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as, a loose style, or way of reasoning.

   The comparison employed . . . must be considered rather as a loose analogy than as an exact scientific explanation.
   --Whewel.

6. Not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to some standard of right.

   The loose morality which he had learned.
   --Sir W. Scott.

7. Unconnected; rambling.

   Vario spends whole mornings in running over loose and unconnected pages.
   --I. Watts.

8. Lax; not costive; having lax bowels.
   --Locke.

9. Dissolute; unchaste; as, a loose man or woman.

   Loose ladies in delight.
   --Spenser.

10. Containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language; as, a loose epistle.
    --Dryden.

    At loose ends, not in order; in confusion; carelessly managed.

    Fast and loose. See under Fast.

    To break loose. See under Break.

    Loose pulley. (Mach.) See Fast and loose pulleys, under Fast.

    To let loose, to free from restraint or confinement; to set at liberty.

Fast \Fast\, a. [Compar. Faster; superl. Fastest.] [OE., firm, strong, not loose, AS. f[ae]st; akin to OS. fast, D. vast, OHG. fasti, festi, G. fest, Icel. fastr, Sw. & Dan. fast, and perh. to E. fetter. The sense swift comes from the idea of keeping close to what is pursued; a Scandinavian use. Cf. Fast, adv., Fast, v., Avast.]

1. Firmly fixed; closely adhering; made firm; not loose, unstable, or easily moved; immovable; as, to make fast the door.

   There is an order that keeps things fast.
   --Burke.

2. Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.

   Outlaws . . . lurking in woods and fast places.
   --Spenser.

3. Firm in adherence; steadfast; not easily separated or alienated; faithful; as, a fast friend.

4. Permanent; not liable to fade by exposure to air or by washing; durable; lasting; as, fast colors.

5. Tenacious; retentive. [Obs.]

   Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells.
   --Bacon.

6. Not easily disturbed or broken; deep; sound.

   All this while in a most fast sleep.
   --Shak.

7. Moving rapidly; quick in mition; rapid; swift; as, a fast horse.

8. Given to pleasure seeking; disregardful of restraint; reckless; wild; dissipated; dissolute; as, a fast man; a fast liver.
   --Thackeray.

9. In such a condition, as to resilience, etc., as to make possible unusual rapidity of play or action; as, a fast racket, or tennis court; a fast track; a fast billiard table, etc.

   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. ``Play fast and loose with faith.''
   --Shak.

   Fast and loose pulleys (Mach.), two pulleys placed side by side on a revolving shaft, which is driven from another shaft by a band, and arranged to disengage and re["e]ngage the machinery driven thereby. When the machinery is to be stopped, the band is transferred from the pulley fixed to the shaft to the pulley which revolves freely upon it, and vice versa.

   Hard and fast (Naut.), so completely aground as to be immovable.

   To make fast (Naut.), to make secure; to fasten firmly, as a vessel, a rope, or a door.

described as "a cheating game played with a stick and a belt or string, so arranged that a spectator would think he could make the latter fast by placing a stick through its intricate folds, whereas the operator could detach it at once." [James O. Halliwell, "Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words," 1847]. The figurative sense (1550s) is recorded earlier than the literal (1570s).

Fast and Loose is a cheating game played at fairs by sharpers. It is also known as Pricking the Garter (Renaissance), The Strap (1930 con man argot), The Old Army Game (World War II), The Australian Belt, and Pricking at the Belt.

Fast and Loose is a 1930 romantic comedy film directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and starring Miriam Hopkins, Carole Lombard and Frank Morgan. The film was written by Doris Anderson, Jack Kirkland and Preston Sturges, based on the 1924 play The Best People by David Gray and Avery Hopwood. Fast and Loose was released by Paramount Pictures.

Other films or TV series with identical or similar titles, such as the 1939 MGM detective comedy starring Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell, are not related to this film.

Fast and Loose may refer to:

• Fast and Loose (con game), a cheating game sometimes known as "The Strap"
• Fast and Loose (1930 film), a 1930 romantic comedy starring Miriam Hopkins and Carole Lombard
• Fast and Loose (1939 film), a 1939 detective comedy starring Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell
• Fast and Loose (1954 film), a 1954 film from the UK starring Stanley Holloway and Kay Kendall
• Fast and Loose (TV series), a 2011 UK TV series

Fast and Loose is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Stanley Holloway, Kay Kendall and Brian Reece. It was based on A Cuckoo in the Nest by Ben Travers, the first of his Aldwych farces.

Fast and Loose is a 1939 American thriller film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell and Reginald Owen. It is a sequel to the 1938 film Fast Company and was followed the same year by Fast and Furious. In each film, different actors played the crime-solving couple.

Fast and Loose is a British television series on BBC Two. Conceived by Dan Patterson, one of the creators of the popular long-running series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, it mirrors the series in format and style with the addition of some new games. Guests take part in numerous improvised sketches in which each comedian inhabits a certain character or movie genre. The only series was eight episodes long and hosted by comedian Hugh Dennis. Fast and Loose is the inspiration for the 2012 American show Trust Us with Your Life on ABC, hosted by Fred Willard and featuring a celebrity guest on each episode.