英语词汇play fast and loose的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

play fast and loose. This expression for “not being trustwor- thy or honest, promising one thing and doing another,” proba- bly derives from an old con game played by sharpsters at coun- try fairs. In this obsolete game, its exact details long lost, the operator arranged a belt so that a spectator believed he could insert a skewer through its intricate folds and fasten the belt to the table. But the operator had cleverly coiled the belt so that it only appeared to have a loop in its center and he always pulled it loose from the table after the dupe thought he had skewered it. Metaphorical use of the phrase play fast and loose has been traced back to 1547, so the con game was probably being played before the 16th century.

词汇	play fast and loose
词源	play fast and loose. This expression for “not being trustwor- thy or honest, promising one thing and doing another,” proba- bly derives from an old con game played by sharpsters at coun- try fairs. In this obsolete game, its exact details long lost, the operator arranged a belt so that a spectator believed he could insert a skewer through its intricate folds and fasten the belt to the table. But the operator had cleverly coiled the belt so that it only appeared to have a loop in its center and he always pulled it loose from the table after the dupe thought he had skewered it. Metaphorical use of the phrase play fast and loose has been traced back to 1547, so the con game was probably being played before the 16th century.
随便看	tongue-tied tongue twister ton of bricks ton of cobblestone tontine tonto tonton macoutes tony too big for one-s breeches too high for picking cotton too lazy to work and too nervous to steal too many cooks spoil the broth too many irons in the fire too much of a good thing too old to cut the mustard too poor to paint and too proud to whitewash to oppose preston and his mastiffs toothache tree tooth and nail too thick to drink and too thin to plow tooth-jumping toothwalker tootle-oo toots tootsie roll