What does the expression 'hard and fast' mean?

Question

As in ..... 'I don't want the rules to get all hard and fast, or 'The politics here is played hard and fast'.....I've seen it used in various contexts and am curious.....

Answer 1

Reckless.

Unforgiving.

Fast and lose?

Answer 2

Tricky, because in those two sentences the phrase means completely different things.

"Hard and fast" rules are rules that may not be broken. There's an odd meaning of "fast" that is "set, secure" that's used here. You could also say : I don't want the rules to be set in stone."

But to play "hard and fast" means you're reacting quickly, not necessarily playing fair, definitely playing to win. (Like you're throwing the ball hard and fast.)

Answer 3

Really used differently in both sentences.

Rules - unchangeable, not negotiable

Politics - cut throat, no margin for error

Answer 4

Idioms: hard and fast

Defined, fixed, invariable, as in We have hard and fast rules for this procedure. This term originally was applied to a vessel that has come out of water, either by running aground or being put in dry dock, and is therefore unable to move. By the mid-1800s it was being used figuratively.

Meaning #1: (of rules) stringently enforced

  Synonym: strict

http://www.answers.com/hard%20and%20fast

Etymology

First attested 1867, originally of a ship on shore.

strictly enforced (as of rules)

    to stick to hard-and-fast rules

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hard-and-f...

strongly binding; not to be set aside or violated: hard-and-fast rules.

http://dictionary.infoplease.com/hard-an...

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/d...

Answer 5

gusto and speed