fast and loose
adverb
1
: in a reckless or irresponsible manner
played fast and loose with the public purse strings—
Paul Stuewe
Paul Stuewe2
: in a craftily deceitful way
manipulated evidence … and played fast and loose with the truth—C. V. Woodward
C. V. WoodwardExamples of fast and loose in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As concept albums go, Eternal Atake plays it pretty fast and loose, but that’s the Lil Uzi Vert way.
—Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
Collectively, everyone played it fast and loose, sweating it out as proud stalwarts of the midday block.
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 3 Aug. 2024
The movie plays a little fast and loose with some aspects of science—and is certainly more action-packed than the average tornado chase.
—Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 30 July 2024
The 18th-century Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi was a champion of commedia dell-arte, a funny format that can be both fast and loose and rather formal, with stock characters and tight storylines which the actors improvise within.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fast and loose 
Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
Collectively, everyone played it fast and loose, sweating it out as proud stalwarts of the midday block.
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 3 Aug. 2024
The movie plays a little fast and loose with some aspects of science—and is certainly more action-packed than the average tornado chase.
—Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 30 July 2024
The 18th-century Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi was a champion of commedia dell-arte, a funny format that can be both fast and loose and rather formal, with stock characters and tight storylines which the actors improvise within.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fast and loose
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fast and loose.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fast and loose
Cite this Entry
“Fast and loose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fast%20and%20loose. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share