FAST AND LOOSE  , a

cheating game played at fairs by sharpers . A strap, usually in the form of a belt, is rolled or doubled up with a loop in the centre, and laid edgewise on a table . The swindler then bets that the loop cannot be caught with a stick or skewer as he unrolls the belt . As this looks to be easy to do the bet is often taken, but the sharper unrolls the belt in such a manner as to make the catching of the loop practically impossible . Centuries ago it was much practised by gipsies, a circumstance alluded to by Shakespeare in Anthony and Cleopatra (iv .