| 词汇 | to play fast and loose |
| 释义 | (redirected from to play 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. play fast and loose (with someone or something)Fig. to act carelessly, thoughtlessly, and irresponsibly. I'm tired of your playing fast and loose with me. Leave me alone. Bob got fired for playing fast and loose with the company's money. play fast and looseBe recklessly irresponsible, unreliable, or deceitful, as in This reporter is known for playing fast and loose with the facts. This term probably originated in a 16th-century game called "fast and loose," played at country fairs. A belt was doubled and held with the loop at table's edge, and the player had to catch the loop with a stick as the belt was unrolled-an impossible feat. The term was already used figuratively by the late 1500s, especially for trifling with someone's affections. play fast and looseIf someone plays fast and loose with something important, they treat it without care, respect or accuracy. The government is playing fast and loose with public spending. Several of the company's announcements have been exposed for playing fast and loose with the facts. play fast and looseignore your obligations; be unreliable.Fast and loose was the name of an old fairground game, in which a punter was challenged to pin an intricately folded belt, garter, or other piece of material to a surface. The person running the game would inevitably show that the item had not been securely fastened or made ‘fast’, and so the punter would lose their money. The phrase came to be used to indicate inconstancy. 1996 Time Out The big MGM production typically plays fast and loose with the facts, so it's as much an action spectacular as a genuine historical chronicle. play fast and ˈloose (with somebody/something)(old-fashioned) treat somebody/something in a way that shows that you feel no responsibility or respect for them: If he plays fast and loose with my daughter’s feelings, I’ll make sure he regrets it.play fast and looseverbSee play fast and loose with someone/something play fast and loose To behave in a recklessly irresponsible or deceitful manner: played fast and loose with the facts. play 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.” fast 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.” |
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