Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

play fast and loose

To be recklessly inaccurate, inappropriate, or otherwise ignoring guidelines and conventions.

Etymology:

  • From the con game Fast-and-loose, 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.
42 Views
Collection   Edit    

Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'play fast and loose':

play fast and looseTo ignore proper behavior or social conventions, especially when it suits ones purpose.
Play Fast and LooseTo be capricious and irresponsible, to do all that pleases one without caring to have offended others
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the play fast and loose phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to play fast and loose

play first fiddleplay inplay ballplay gooseberryplay for loveplay ballplay hookeyplay in Peoriaplay inplay hob withplay atplay gamesplay hookyplay away

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this play fast and loose phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this play fast and loose definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "play fast and loose." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/play-fast-and-loose_6136>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    Here's my two __________.
    A cents
    B words
    C pence
    D thoughts

    Browse Phrases.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ