hard-and-fast

[hahrd-n-fast, -fahst]

adjective

1. strongly binding; not to be set aside or violated.

   hard-and-fast rules.

   Synonyms: unambiguous, rigorous, inviolable, inflexible, precise, fixed

hard and fast

adjective

1. (hard-and-fast when prenominal) (esp of rules) invariable or strict

Other Word Forms

• hard-and-fastness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hard and fast¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Idioms and Phrases

Defined, fixed, invariable, as in We have hard and fast rules for this procedure. This term originally was applied to a vessel that has come out of water, either by running aground or being put in dry dock, and is therefore unable to move. By the mid-1800s it was being used figuratively.

Example Sentences

Kidnapping, as a hard-and-fast rule, is never a wise choice.

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Though it’s not a hard-and-fast rule, Los Angeles often likes to go its own way after the New York group announces its top film.

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There’s no hard-and-fast rule about how long a jury must keep attempting to resolve differences before a mistrial can be declared.

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The famed neuroscientist and author reaches through the abstract realm of academic debates on consciousness by climbing down a richly biographical thread, connecting the high-minded with hard-and-fast reality.

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“There are no hard-and-fast rules, only general guidelines and varied court decisions,” according to a digest by Stanford University librarians.

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