Playing fast and loose?

[hooktonboy]

So, does anyone know where this expression comes from? Sounds as though it could be archery?

[Tom]

It's not archery related. The saying apparently comes from a deception game.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/284300.html

[cliveanne]

I was told another.
It is archery related
fast is short for "Stand fast", & loose, is to loose the arrow
Make of it what you will...I have :snowball1

[gwynn]

AFAIK it is an archery expression, playing fast and loose is to say one thing and then do the opposite.

[Thunk]

Originally Posted by gwynn

AFAIK it is an archery expression, playing fast and loose is to say one thing and then do the opposite.

As in 'this one's going in the gold..', and which then misses the boss completely?

[Little Bow Pete]

Robert Hardy in Longbow, p135,

'…..the king revived the old rules of Henry I exempting from arrest or imprisonment any man who shot and killed or wounded a person running between the shooter and the mark. If a shooter saw an interloper he must cry ‘Faste’, which means to other shooters ‘hold fast’. Hence one who shoots ‘fast and loose’, loosing his arrow in spite of the warning. ‘Fast’ is a shout that still echoes across the archery grounds of Great Britain.'

Sounds like a robust attitude to trespassers and dog walkers.

[cliveanne]

Originally Posted by Little Bow Pete

Robert Hardy in Longbow, p135,

'…..the king revived the old rules of Henry I exempting from arrest or imprisonment any man who shot and killed or wounded a person running between the shooter and the mark. If a shooter saw an interloper he must cry ‘Faste’, which means to other shooters ‘hold fast’. Hence one who shoots ‘fast and loose’, loosing his arrow in spite of the warning. ‘Fast’ is a shout that still echoes across the archery grounds of Great Britain.'

Sounds like a robust attitude to trespassers and dog walkers.

Or even F**tballers?