- 1硬性的、一成不變的（多半講規定；硬性規定）
A hard-and-fast rule is clear, definite, and meant to be used every time — you are not supposed to bend it. The phrase you will hear most is the negative one: “There is no hard-and-fast rule,” meaning there is no single rule that fits every case. It feels a little formal, and it almost always sits in front of rule, line, or distinction. Though actually it did not start with rules. It was first used in the 1860s of a ship on shore, stuck firm — “hard” on the ground and “fast” in the old sense of “fixed, not moving,” the same fast as in , not the “quick” fast. From a ship that cannot move, it became a rule that cannot move.
硬性的、一成不變的，指規定清楚、明確，每次都要照做，不能變通，多半用來講規定。最常聽到的是否定說法，例句是「There is no hard-and-fast rule」，意思是沒有一條能套用到每種情況的規則。這個說法有點正式，幾乎都放在規則、界線或區分的前面，常見的是「hard-and-fast rule」。這個字其實不是一開始就用在規則上：1860 年代最先用來形容擱在岸上、卡得很牢的船，hard 指地面硬，舊義的快是固定、不動的意思，跟綁緊的那個字同源。從一艘動不了的船，後來變成一條動不了的規則。
From the word’s history
First attested 1867, originally of a ship on shore.
最早見於 1867 年，原本是說船擱在岸上。
組成hard + and + fast. First attested 1867, originally of a ship on shore. Fast here means “fixed,” not “quick.”
同家族的字
- fastensame old fast meaning “fixed, not moving”
原始詞典資料1 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
hard-and-fastadj
- 1
strictly maintained; not subject to variation
- to stick to hard-and-fast rules
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。