Fast and Loose

Fast and Loose is a cheating game played at fairs by sharpers. A strap, usually in the form of a belt, is rolled or doubled up with a loop in the centre, and laid edgewise on a table. The swindler then bets that the loop cannot be caught with a stick or skewer as he unrolls the belt. As this looks to be easy to do the bet is often taken, but the sharper unrolls the belt in such a manner as to make the catching of the loop practically impossible. Centuries ago it was much practised by gypsies, a circumstance alluded to by Shakespeare in Anthony and Cleopatra (iv. 12):

Related Topics:
Cheating - Game - Fair - Sharper - Gypsies - Shakespeare - Anthony and Cleopatra

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:Like a right gipsy, hath, at fast and loose, Beguiled me to the very heart of loss.

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From this game is taken the colloquial expression to "play fast and loose". At the present day it is called "prick the garter" or "prick the loop".

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