hard-and-fast
[ hahrd-n-fast, -fahst ]
/ ˈhɑrd nˈfæst, -ˈfɑst /
adjective
strongly binding; not to be set aside or violated: hard-and-fast rules.
Origin of hard-and-fast
First recorded in 1865–70
SYNONYMS FOR hard-and-fast
OTHER WORDS FROM hard-and-fast
hard-and-fast·ness, nounWords nearby hard-and-fast
hard up,
hard water,
hard way, the,
hard wheat,
hard yards,
hard-and-fast,
hard-ass,
hard-asset,
hard-bill,
hard-bitten,
hard-boil
British Dictionary definitions for hard and fast
hard and fast
adjective
(hard-and-fast when prenominal)
(esp of rules) invariable or strict
Idioms and Phrases with hard and fast
hard and fast
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.