hard-and-fast

American  

[hahrd-n-fast, -fahst] / ˈhɑrd nˈfæst, -ˈfɑst /

adjective

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

   hard-and-fast rules.

   Synonyms:

   unambiguous, rigorous, inviolable, inflexible, precise, fixed

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hard and fast British  

adjective

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

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hard and fast Idioms  

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• hard-and-fastness noun

Etymology

Origin of hard-and-fast

First recorded in 1865–70