Forms: 1–2 fæst, 2 fest, 3 Orm. fasst, 4 south. dial. vest, 4–6 faste, 3– fast. [Com. Teut.: OE. fæst corresponds to OFris. fest, OS. fast (Du. vast), OHG. festi (MHG. veste, mod.HG. fest), ON. fastr; prob. repr. OTeut. *fastu- (the word having, like other adj. u stems, passed into the o and i declensions), cogn. with Goth. fastan to keep, guard, observe.]
I. Firm.
1. Firmly fixed in its place; not easily moved or shaken; settled, stable. Obs. or arch. exc. as said predicatively of something fixed as in a socket (e.g., a nail, a post), where the sense approaches 4.
c. 888. K. Ælfred, Boeth., xii. Se þe wille fæst hus timbrian ne sceall he hit no settan upon þone hehstan cnol.
c. 1000. Sax. Leechd., III. 268. Ealle mæst hi [steorran] synd fæste on þam firmamentum.
c. 1374. Chaucer, Anel. & Arc., 313.
| She that hem loveth, shal hem fynde as fast, | |
| As in a tempest is a roten mast. |
c. 1400. Lanfranc’s Cirurg., 321. It is necessarie þat þe patient ligge also stille as he mai wiþouten remevyng til þe boon be fast.
1535. Coverdale, 1 Chron. xvii. [xvi.] 30. He hath made the compase of the world so fast, that it can not be moued.
1576. A. Fleming, A Panoplie of Epistles, 179. If you lay not such a fast foundation.
1656. Ridgley, Pract. Physick, 291. Pain of the Colick is moveable; of the stone, fast.
1674. N. Fairfax, A Treatise of the Bulk and Selvedge of the World, 74. We are by no means to look upon the world as a great heap of fast and loose bodies hudled up together at sixes and sevens by hast and carelesness, or an hugger-mugger of meddlesom beings all at jars.
1765. A. Dickson, Treat. Agric., V. (ed. 2), 159. In lands that are improved, where the fast stones have been carefully digged out, and the smaller stones frequently gathered off.
1820. Scoresby, Acc. Arctic Reg., II. 264. It was ready to drop out. Some of the officers lamented this circumstance, and expressed a wish that the harpoon were better fast.
1858. J. Martineau, Stud. Chr., 36. Structures hollowed in the fast mountain.
1871. Morley, Voltaire, iv. (1886), 160–1. There is at least a something in the hearts of good men which sets a fast gulf between them and those who are to the very depths of their souls irredeemably saturated with corruption.
b. In immaterial sense; esp. Of a person, his attributes, feelings, etc.: Not easily turned aside, constant, firm, steadfast. Now only in fast foe (arch.), fast friend; in the latter the adj. is commonly apprehended in sense 4.
c. 900. trans. Bæda’s Hist., IV. iii. § 4. Þonne eode he to cirican … & on sealmsonge fæste moode awunade.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 119. Þe holi gost … alihte hem of brihtere and of festere bileue þe hie hedden er.
c. 1340. Hampole, Psalter, i. 1. He is man þt is fast & stabile ageyns ese.
1340. Ayenb., 116. Vayre zuete uader make oure herten ueste an stedeuest.
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 4616. We þat fourmed is & fast.
1485. Caxton, Paris & Vienna (1868), 69. He had alle waye faste byleue in our lord Ihesu Cryste.
1508. Fisher, Wks. (1876), I. 271. A fast hope and confydence that he had in prayer.
1513. More, in Grafton, Chron., II. 778. Catesby … founde him [Hastings] so fast … that [etc.].
1607. Shaks., Cor., II. iii. 192.
| If he should still malignantly remaine | |
| Fast Foe to th’ Plebij. |
1611. Speed, Hist. Gt. Brit., IX. xix. § 23. 716. He had beene fast vpon the part of King Henry, while that part was in wealth.
1697. Dampier, Voy. (1698), I. 158. The Indian neighbourhood, who were mortal Enemies to the Spaniards, and had been flusht by their successes against them, through the assistance of the Privateers, for several years, were our fast friends, and ready to receive and assist us.
1793. Burke, Conduct of the Minority, Wks. 1842, I. 621. England must be the fast friend, or the determined enemy, of France.
1833. Ht. Martineau, Loom & Lugger, II. v. 91. If they and I are left free to observe the true rule of interest,—to buy in the cheapest market we can discover, and sell in the dearest, we shall find our interests agree, be fast friends, and make commerce the advantageous thing it was designed to be.
1878. Browning, La Saisiaz, 509.
| There ’s evading and persuading and much making law amends | |
| Somehow there ’s the nice distinction ’twixt fast foes and faulty friends. |
† c. Pleonastically. Fast and sure: well assured, certain. Obs.
1513. Skelton, Sp. Parrot, 504.
| Was nevyr suche a ffylty gorgon, nor suche an epycure, | |
| Syn[s] Dewcalyons floode, I make the faste and sure. |
c. 1550. Bale, K. Johan (Camden), 20. C. I wyll not breke yt, ye may be fast and suer.
d. † Of sleep: Deep, sound, unbroken. Of persons: = Fast asleep. Obs. exc. dial.
1592. Shaks., Rom. & Jul., IV. v. 1. Fast I warrant her. Ibid. (1605), Macb. V. i. 9. All this while in a most fast sleepe.
1743. Fielding, Journey, I. i. She was in a fast sleep.
1762. Foote, Orator, II. Wks. 1799, I. 211. Smoke the justice, he is as fast as a church.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, xli. ‘They waked we sharp enough; but as for she! she’s fast.’
e. Fast aground, ashore: (of a vessel) fixed on the ground, the shore. Fast asleep: fixed in sleep, sound asleep, in a deep sleep.
In these phrases fast seems to have been originally the grammatical predicate; now it is usually apprehended as an adv. qualifying aground, ashore, asleep.
1555. T. Haukes, in Foxe, A. & M. (1631), III. XI. 260. The old Bishop … was fast asleepe.
c. 1620. Z. Boyd, Zion’s Flowers (1855), 12.
| I see a man that’s in the lower deck, | |
| Hard fast asleepe, not fearing storme nor leck. |
1725. De Foe, Voy. round World (1840), 331. Running fast aground, they immediately began, though dark, and themselves very much fatigued, to unload their floats and carry all on shore on their backs.
1751. Smollett, Per. Pic., ii. We were fast ashore before you knew anything of the matter. Ibid. (1771), Humph. Cl. (1846), 329. In half an hour I was fast asleep in bed.
1837. Dickens, Pickw., viii. The fat boy, for once, had not been fast asleep.
1867. Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk., Fast aground, immoveable or high and dry.
f. Of a color: That will not quickly fade or wash out; permanent.
1658. W. Sanderson, Graphice, 80. Fast and firm colours, as Umber, Oke.
1840. F. D. Bennett, Whaling Voy., II. 92. Its texture is strong and neat; its colours are fast, and usually red, blue, white, and yellow, blended with tasteful effect.
1884. I. Levinstein, in Manch. Exam., 6 Oct., 4/5. The fastest red dye known on cotton.
g. Fast line (Surveying): see quot. Hard and fast line: see HARD a.
1807. Hutton, Course Math., II. 73. When a line is measured whose position is determined … it is called a fast line.
† 2. Firmly or closely knit together, compact, dense, solid, hard. Obs. exc. dial.
c. 1000. Sax. Leechd., I. 114. Ðeos wyrt … bið cenned … on fæstum stowum.
c. 1200. Ormin, 1602. Wiþþ fasst & findiȝ laf & harrd.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVII. ii. (1495), 598. Trees that ben moost sad and faste.
1581. J. Merbecke, A Booke of Notes and Common places, 1038. Then is hayle ingendered, because ye thing is become more fast and substantiall.
1601. Holland, Pliny, XVI. xl. The Cherrie tree wood is firme and fast.
1609. C. Butler, Fem. Mon., i. (1623), Cj. The nap of new Fustian displeaseth them, because it seemeth hairy; and the stuffe is so fast, that it holdeth the sting.
1661. J. Childrey, Brit. Bacon., 16. Tin is a fast metal, and not apt to dissolve.
1765. A. Dickson, Treat. Agric. (ed. 2), 316. The half of the earth, e f, with the fast land below, is thrown into the furrow E F.
1805. Scott, Last Minstr., IV. xvii.
| Behind, in close array and fast, | |
| The Kendal archers, all in green, | |
| Obedient to the bugle blast, | |
| Advancing from the wood are seen. |
1881. Leicestersh. Gloss., ‘This ’ere bread cuts so fasst.’
† b. Of style: Compact, terse. Obs.
a. 1568. Ascham, Scholem., II. (Arb.), 113. If Osorius would … translate Demosthenes, with so straite, fast, and temperate a style in latine, as he is in Greeke.
† 3. Of a fortress: Strong. Of a place or district: Secure against attack or access. Obs. Cf. FASTNESS.
c. 900. trans. Bæda’s Hist., III. xvi. Seo burȝ wæs to þon fæst þæt [etc.].
c. 1205. Lay., 9775. Sone he gon faren … in to Ex-chæstre, þa burh wes þa fæstre.
1571. Hanmer, Chron. Irel. (1633), 113. They found the country fast with woods, bogges, and paces trenched and plashed.
1596. Spenser, State Irel. (1633), 100. Robbers and Outlawes … lurking in Woods and fast places.
1633. T. Stafford, Pacata Hibernia, vii. (1821), 86. The day following, fiue hundred Foote were sent into Ownhy, inhabited by the O Mulryans a strong and fast Countrey.
4. Firmly attached to something else; that cannot easily escape or be extricated; fixed to the spot; lit. and fig. Said both of persons and things.
c. 1400. Lanfranc’s Cirurg. (MS. A), 352. Presse hem þat þei bicome fast togidere.
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 747* (Dublin MS.). In rapes fast for ryfyng of bernes.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 151/2. Fast, or festyd be clevynge to, or naylynge, fixus, confixus.
1535. Coverdale, Ps. lxxvii[i]. 8. I am so fast in preson, that I can not get forth.
1603. Knolles, Hist. Turks, 685. Being … almost fast in the deep mud.
1656. B. Harris, trans. Parival’s The History of This Iron Age, 86. France … by keeping herself fast with them … hath drawn no small advantages from them [Swiss].
1682. Milton, Hist. Mosc., v. I am now fast in your Country.
1700. S. L., trans. C. Fryke’s Voy. E. Ind., 41. The Hook struck into his Throat, and had him fast.
1772–84. Cook, Voy. (1790), VI. 2236. Captain King … found a muddy bottom, and good anchoring ground, at the depth of 60 fathoms, he remained fast till the return of the boat.
1806–7. J. Beresford, Miseries Hum. Life (1826), I. Introd. If you, and your mind, and your nerves, are such fast cronies as to be absolutely all in all to one another, how come ye, pray, to be so wonderfully interested in the fate of your flesh.
1827. Scott, Jrnl. (1890), II. 13. Went to see Mr. Scrope, who is fast with the gout.
1833. Tennyson, Poems, Rosalind, 120.
| We must bind | |
| And keep you fast, my Rosalind, | |
| Fast, fast, my wild-eyed Rosalind, | |
| Ans clip your wings, and make you love. |
1878. H. Phillips, Poems Translated from the Spanish and German, The Romance of Virgilius, 16.
| Prisoner fast was Virgil taken, | |
| In a dungeon him they fling, | |
| For a treason he committed | |
| In the palace of the king. |
b. Of a knot, band, etc.: Firmly tied, not easily loosed. Also fig. of an alliance, etc.
1553. T. Wilson, Rhet. (1580), 40. For that faste kinred and aliaunce, which is betwixt us.
1583. Hollyband, Campo di Fior, 21. Tye the latcheth of a loose knot, and not of a fast one.
1641. Milton, Ch. Govt., Wks. 1738, I. 63. Our Prelates … have enter’d into fast League with the principal Enemy against whom they were sent.
1724. R. Falconer, Voy. (1769), 232. He that commanded the Slaves (which was Jenkins) found Fault with ’em for something, and chastiz’d ’em as usual, but took the Opportunity to unlock ’em all, and order’d ’em to lie still, as if their Chains were fast, till they had Command to do otherwise.
c. To make fast: to bind, connect, or fix firmly. In nautical use also absol.
a. 1300. Cursor Mundi, 16684 (Trin.). Abouen his heed … a bord was made fast.
c. 1400. Lanfranc’s Cirurg., 174. Þer ben maad fast wiþ þe ballokis .ij. vessels.
1526. Tindale, Acts xvi. 24. When he [the ioyler] had receaved suche commaundement thrust them into the inner preson, and made their fete fast in the stockes.
1627. Capt. Smith, Seaman’s Gram., v. 22. In stead of tying, Sea-men alwayes say, make fast.
1697. Dampier, Voy. (1698), I. 17. One, George Gayny took the end of a Line, and made it fast about his Neck, and left the other end ashore, and one man stood by the Line, to clear it away to him.
1748. F. Smith, Voy. Disc. N.-W. Pass., I. 45. Captain More made fast to another Piece [of ice].
1835. Marryat, Jac. Faithf., vii. Make the boat fast, there’s a good lad.
1872. C. Gibbon, For the King, i. The horses were made fast in one corner of the court.
fig. a. 1310. in Wright, Lyric P., ix. 37.
| Betre is make forewardes faste, | |
| then afterward to mene ant mynne. |
1553. T. Wilson, Rhet. (1580), 144. A Gentleman, being handfasted to a Gentlewoman … afterwardes lost her, being made faster to another manne, then ever she was to hym.
1560. Rolland, The Court of Venus, IV. 469. Ȝe man mak fast that salbe to ȝow laid.
d. fig. In a perplexity or difficulty; ‘in a fix.’ To be fast for: to be in want of. dial.
1863. Mrs. Toogood, Vorksh. Dial. I sent to borrow your saddle, for I … was fast for one.
1877. Cheshire Gloss., ‘I’ve getten fast amang it.’
1883. Almondbury Gloss., ‘Why don’t you get on with your job?’ ‘Nay, Au’m fast.’
e. Whale-fishing. Of the whale: Having a harpoon sticking in it. Also of the boat, to which the harpoon is attached. Cf. Fast-boat, -fish, -ship (see 11).
1820. Scoresby, Acc. Arctic Reg., II. 320. Whether the fish, at the time of being harpooned by the second ship, was fast or loose? Ibid. (1823), Jrnl., 444. Amongst this run of fish, the king George was fast to three, but lost them all.
1839. T. Beale, Sperm Whale, 181. The immense creature almost flew out of the water from the blow, throwing tons of spray high into the air, shewing that he was ‘fast.’
f. Constipated; costive. Obs. exc. dial.
c. 1000. Sax. Leechd., I. 74. Gif mannes innoð to fæst sy.
1877. N. W. Linc. Gloss., Fast, costive.
5. Of a door, window, etc.: Close shut, bolted, or locked. Also, To make (a door, etc.) fast.
c. 1305. Edmund Conf., 416 in E. E. P. (1862), 82. Make faste þe dore after þe.
c. 1320. Cast. Love, 877.
| Þorw þe faste ȝat he con in teo, | |
| And at þe owt-ȝong he lette faste beo. |
c. 1425. Seven Sag., 1355 (P.). The wyf fonde the dore faste.
1562. J. Heywood, Prov. & Epigr. (1867), 160.
| He that cumth last make all fast, to this say sum | |
| All is made fast ere the last cummer cum. |
1623. Massinger, Dk. Milan, V. ii. I’ll first make fast the door.
1748. Richardson, Clarissa, Wks. 1883, VI. 290. I thought I heard her coming to open the door … but it was only to draw another bolt, to make it still the faster.
1832. Ht. Martineau, Hill & Valley, i. 9. He … walked round the cottage to see that the windows were fast.
1853. C. Kingsley, Hypatia, xxviii. 359. The door … was fast. With a single blow he burst it open.
6. Gripping, tenacious. Const. of. Obs. exc. in To take fast hold (of).
c. 1510. More, Life of John Picus, Wks. 5/2. Fyrst an icredible wit, secondly a meruelouse fast memorie, thirdly great substance.
1608. Bp. Hall, Char. Virtues & V., II. 76. He greets his friend in the street with so cleere a countenance, so fast a closure, that the other thinks hee reades his heart in his face.
1611. Bible, Prov. iv. 13. Take fast hold of instruction, let her not goe; keepe her, for she is thy life.
1625. Bacon, Ess., Gardens (Arb.), 557. Roses Damask & Red are fast Flowers of their Smels.
1662. J. Davies, Voy. Ambass., 272. These Conductors, as they led the Ambassadors along, laid such fast hold on their hands, they they had not the use of them themselves.
1724. R. Falconer, Voy. (1769), 62. Laying fast hold of the Skirt of my Waistcoat, (having never a Coat on) pull’d me off the Mast; but with his Weight, and some Struggling I made to save myself, my Skirt ripp’d off, and the Master sunk to the Bottom, and I by good Fortune laid hold of the Rigging that hung to the Mast.
† b. Close-fisted, mean, niggardly. Obs.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 143. Þa feste Men þa þet mei lutel to wreche.
a. 1300. Pop. Science, 275. A slouȝ wrecche and ferblet, fast and loth to ȝeve his god.
7. Mining. a. In fast country, ground, applied to that part of the bed of minerals which lies next the rock (cf. 4).
1671. Phil. Trans., VI. 2096. The (then real but now imaginary) surface of the Earth, which is termed by the Miners, the Shelf, Fast Countrey or Ground that was never moved in the Flood. Ibid., 2099. When we come to the Shelf or Fast Countrey.
1753. Chambers, Cycl. Supp., Fast Ground or Fast Country.
b. Fast end, wall (see quots.). Cf. 1.
1851. Greenwell, Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh., 25. Fast Wall, a sheth wall; the wall in which, at the top or bottom of a course, the bearing up or bearing down stopping is placed.
1881. Raymond, Mining Gloss., Fast-end.… A gangway with rock on both sides.
1883. Gresley, Coal min. Gloss., Fast End, the limit of a stall in one direction.
II. Rapid.
[This sense was app. developed first in the adv., and thence transferred to the adj.: see FAST adv.]
8. Of action, motion, or progress: Quick, swift. Hence of an agent: (a) Moving quickly; (b) Imparting quick motion to something.
[In the first quot. the sense may be ‘strong, vigorous’ (cf. 1, 2 and the adv. 1 d).]
a. 1300. Cursor M., 7169 (Cott.).
| Sampson … gaue a-braid sa fers and fast, | |
| þat all þe bandes of him brast. |
1552. Huloet, Fast wryter, impiger scriba.
1594. Shaks., Rich. III., III. i. 103. Idle Weeds are fast in growth.
c. 1610. Speed, in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden), 109. With a fast eye you had overune it.
a. 1627. Middleton, Chaste Maid, V. i. A fair, fast, legible hand.
1662. J. Davies, trans. Mandelslo’s Trav. E. Ind., 120. The King and Queen go by water, to the town of Meccao, attended by above a hundred Boats, all which row for the fastest, to gain a Prize allow’d by the King.
1712. Swift, Jrnl. to Stella, 12 Dec. I am slower, but MD is faster.
1788. Franklin, Autobiog., Wks. 1887, I. 287. His ship was grown foul to a degree that must necessarily hinder her fast sailing, a point of consequence for a paquet-boat.
1837. Dickens, Pickw., xiv. He used to drive about the country, with the clay-coloured gig with the red wheels, and the vixenish mare with the fast pace.
1837. Apperley, The Road (1851), 32. The average price of horses for fast coaches may be about twenty-five pounds.
1886. Manch. Exam., 7 Jan., 5/2. The want felt in Lancashire of a good fast bowler.
1886. T. Hopkins, ’Twixt Love & Duty, xli. The fast train was exchanged for a local one.
1888. Steel, Cricket, iii. 164. It is strange that English first-class cricket is so devoid of really fast bowling.
b. Coming in quick succession. freq. in Shelley; otherwise rare.
1815. Shelley, Alastor, 533.
| For, as fast years flow away, | |
| The smooth brow gathers, and the hair grows thin. |
c. Of a clock or watch: Indicating a time more advanced than the true time.
1840. Penny Cycl., XVII. 405/1. In an observatory it is always desirable that a clock should … be slow rather than fast.
Mod. My watch is fast. ‘It is six by my watch.’ ‘I think you must be fast.’
9. Adapted to, or productive of, quick movement. a. With reference to locomotion or transport. b. Cricket and Football. Said of the ground when hard and dry. c. Billiards. Said of a table of which the cushions are very elastic.
a. 1857. B. Taylor, North. Trav., 245. As it was not a ‘fast’ station, we were subject to the possibility of waiting two or three hours for horses.
Mod. A fast line (of railway).
b. 1888. Steel, Cricket, iii. 150. Finishing his stroke as he would do on a fast wicket.
1891. Field, 7 March, 345/3. The ground [at a football match] was very fast.
c. 1873. Bennett & Cavendish, Billiards, 21. By a moderately fast table is meant one on which if a player strikes a ball as hard as he can, it will run five times the length of the table.
10. a. Of persons: Living too fast (see FAST adv. 7); extravagant in habits; devoted to pleasure, dissipated; usually implying; a greater or less degree of immorality. Also in fast life, living, etc. b. Often applied to women in milder sense: Studiedly unrefined in habits and manners, disregardful of propriety or decorum. c. Of language, etc.: Characteristic of ‘fast’ people, d. Of a place: Inhabited or frequented by ‘fast’ people.
1745. E. Haywood, The Female Spectator (1748), II. 293. Sir Thomas Spindle in deep consultation with a Jew quack, how to repair the defects of age, and fast living.
1841. J. T. Hewlett, The Parish Clerk, I. 179. All the fast men were anxious to make their acquaintance.
1852. L. Oliphant, Journey to Katmandu, 191. Lucknow is a fast place.
1856. F. E. Paget, Owlet Owlst., 140. If a fast young lady be detestable anywhere, what must she be in a country parsonage?
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxf. i. The college was decidedly fast; in fact, it was the fast college of the day.
1870. Ramsay, Remin., v. (ed. 18), 119. Though I never heard from one young lady all these fast terms, I have heard the most of them separately from many.
1874. Burnand, My Time, xxiii. 203. Being at Raab’s, and being an independent boy of fortune, my lot was cast in a fast set, whose ranks were recruited from all other sets.
III. 11. Comb. and locutions: fast-boat, a whaling-boat which has made itself fast to a whale, i.e., has harpooned it; † fast-fingered a. = CLOSE-FISTED; fast fish, a whale that has been harpooned and is therefore fast to the boat; fast-freight, U. S. (Railways), goods for rapid transportation, whence fast-freight-line; fast-gated a., dial. going at a rapid rate; fast-goer, one who goes fast; † fast-hand v., to grasp tightly; † fast-handed a. = CLOSE-FISTED; fast-hold, (a) a stronghold; lit. and fig.; (b) confinement, durance; fast-pulley, also in fast and loose pulley (see quots.); fast ship, a ship that has secured a particular whale, by means of its boats; fast-shot (see quot.). Also FAST AND LOOSE.
1820. Scoresby, Acc. Arctic Reg., I. 480. When struck, it frequently drags the *fast-boat with such speed through the water, that it is liable to be carried immediately beyond the reach of assistance, and soon out of sight of both boats and ship.
1839. T. Beale, Sperm Whale, 165. Those in the ‘fast’ boat haul themselves gently towards the whale.
1607. Hieron, Wks., I. 339. How *fast fingered and close handed are they, when any thing should come from them to a good purpose?
1820. Scoresby, Acc. Arctic Reg., II. 244. The first effort of a *‘fast-fish,’ or whale that has been struck, is to escape from the boat, by sinking under water.
1881. Chicago Times, 12 March. The Commercial Express *Fast-Freight line.
1875. Waugh, Old Cronies, iv., in Tufts Heather (1892), I. 221. A *fast-gated spendthrift.
1885. Miss Braddon, Wyllard’s Weird, I. vii. 183. But in a hunting country, the *fast-goers generally get together, don’t they?
1632. J. Hayward, trans. Biondi’s Eromena, 104. She perceived it was a woman who *fast-handing a little plancke, floted on the sea.
1611. Speed, Hist. Gt. Brit., Proeme. Nature in those gifts hath beene both liberall … and prodigall, though Fortune as sparing and *fast handed against me.
1622. Bacon, Hen. VII., 207. The King also beeing fast handed, and loth to part with a second Dowrie, but chiefly being affectionate.
1802. Hatred, III. 152. A banditti … secured themselves from punishment by retiring to this *fast hold.
1832. Fraser’s Mag., V., June, 566. The wild cat, the fox, and the badger, are almost entirely exterminated from their fastholds.
1870. Daily News, 8 Sept., 6. When the last fasthold of priestly influence is rapidly disappearing in the West.
1856. Brees, Terms Archit., etc., *Fast and loose pulleys, a very simple … contrivance for disengaging and re-engaging machinery, consisting of two pulleys. One pulley is fixed on an axle, another, having a bush, is loose. The band conveying the motion may consequently be shifted from one pulley to the other at pleasure.
1874. Knight, Dict. Mech., Fast-pulley. (Machinery.) One keyed to the shaft so as to revolve therewith.
1820. Scoresby, Acc. Arctic Reg., II. 250. These signals serve to indicate to surrounding ships, the exclusive title of the *‘fast-ship’ to the entangled whale, and to prevent their interference, excepting in the way of assistance, in the capture.
1846. Brockett, Gloss. N. Country Words (ed. 3), 161. When a shot has discharged without disturbing the coal … it is said to be a *fast shot.
