Talk:fast

Promiscuous

What about "fast" in the sense of sexually promiscuous, like a fast girl? And consider also the relationship of this term to fast company. --Ed Poor 14:20, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Adjective vs. adverb

Under adjective, the following definition is given:

1. Occurring or happening within a short period of time.

The party started promptly – all the guests arrived very fast after eight.

In that sentence, 'fast' is being used as an adverb, not an adjective. I haven't found it listed as an adverb in a dictionary. Should it be moved to an adverb section or simply deleted? Dmyersturnbull 00:11, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Move to adverb section. Clearly an adverb. —Stephen 06:44, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

etymology of fast

Are there really three etymologies? Is this the best partition of senses among whatever separate etymologies there truly are? The sense evolution distinctions in modern English are at least as important and worthy of an explanation as the common Old English origins. The PoS distinctions in the etymology don't seem especially important in this case. DCDuring TALK 12:08, 2 December 2009 (UTC)

Better. Thanks, Widsith. DCDuring TALK 16:13, 2 December 2009 (UTC)

• I did some.....oh. You saw. Ƿidsiþ 08:29, 3 December 2009 (UTC)

a fast boat

The first example of "fast" in the adjectival sense of "rapid" predates commercial whaling, but it may be interesting to note that a common term in the whale fishery was "a fast boat", meaning a boat whose harpoon was fastened to a whale, after which it would normally be pulled on a rapid "run" through the sea until it tired. These runs were noted as being particularly exhilarating, likened to a downhill sled, and the sense may have been transferred from the state of being fastened to the state of moving at great speed. (ref: Clifford W. Ashley, "The Yankee Whaler", 1926) --68.159.182.6 14:40, 12 December 2009 (UTC)

As you acknowledge, the "rapid" meaning predates that particular industry's usage, but etymologists seem to think that some analogous transfer may account for the evolution of senses. I think some authority referred to usage like "The dog followed fast on the rabbit." I would love to see some definitive scholarly investigation of this, but sometimes such questions are unanswerable. DCDuring TALK 16:40, 12 December 2009 (UTC)

Translate to belarusian

Could someone translate this word to belarusian?--Oksana Yulia (talk) 19:16, 25 March 2013 (UTC) Oksana Yulia

хуткі

Гэта хуткая лодка.

Гэтая лодка хуткая. —Stephen ^(Talk) 21:01, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

An adverb example: He runs very fast - [[#Belarusian|]]Ён ве́льмі ху́тка бяжы́ць ( Jon vjélʹmi xútka bjažýcʹ). --Anatoli ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 00:22, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

RFD discussion: September 2018

The following information passed a request for deletion (permalink).

This discussion is no longer live and is left here as an archive. Please do not modify this conversation, but feel free to discuss its conclusions.

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fast

Sense 10: "(colloquial) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits.", usage example: "She's fast – she slept with him on their first date."

I disagree with this def. Imo, "She's fast" simply means "she's quick to act". Per utramque cavernam 14:58, 2 September 2018 (UTC)

That would be a matter for RfV. Also, the collocation fast woman certainly refers to what was once called "loose morals". DCDuring (talk) 16:34, 2 September 2018 (UTC)

I didn't know of that collocation before, thanks. Per utramque cavernam 17:21, 2 September 2018 (UTC)

It's not "quick to act": this word is a dated term for "loose" or "slutty". Equinox ◑ 17:17, 2 September 2018 (UTC)

@DCDuring, Equinox: All right, but I think the usage example is bad, because it could be interpreted in the way I did. Per utramque cavernam 17:21, 2 September 2018 (UTC)

That's a problem with many usage examples. With citations at least you can provide a pageurl link to provide the full context. I don't know where the problem arises exactly, but there is a problem. DCDuring (talk) 17:48, 2 September 2018 (UTC)

• Keep in RFD. The example sentence is ambiguous, but if the sense is real, it's distinct from the other senses. Send it to RFV if we want citations to show that it exists. —Granger (talk · contribs) 01:07, 3 September 2018 (UTC)
• Here is a beautiful quotation, from “Temperance and its Champions” by George W. Bungay, published in The Herald of Health and Journal of Physical Culture for 1867—Vol. I., page 277:

Had Senator Wilson won the unenviable reputation of being a fast man—a lover of wine, or had he shown himself to the public in a state of inebriety, unable to stand erect in Fanueil Hall for instance, leaning upon the desk to “maintain the center of gravity,” and uttering words that fell sprawling in “muddy obscurity” from lips redolent of rum, rendering it necessary for a prompter and an interpreter to sculpture his speech into symmetry for the public ear and the public press, he would have been pelted from his high office with the indignant ballots of his constituents.

Ergo, Keep.  --Lambiam 13:05, 3 September 2018 (UTC)

Thanks, added. I've removed the dubious example sentence, the rfd-tag, and changed the label from "colloquial" to "dated". Per utramque cavernam 14:30, 3 September 2018 (UTC)

Kept. Per utramque cavernam 14:30, 3 September 2018 (UTC)

fast honk

What meaning is used in How to fast honk --Backinstadiums (talk) 17:49, 29 November 2019 (UTC)

@Backinstadiums: Rapid, speedy. Fast-honking is just tooting a car horn in rapid bursts. Equinox ◑ 13:58, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Also an old dish/recipe

...of eggs, pigeon and onions — apparently. [1]. Equinox ◑ 13:58, 26 May 2020 (UTC)