As seen in quite a lot of video games:
What is the meaning/origin of this phrase?
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2Dictionary, dictionary, dictionary. Look up: door, stuck, and fast. Look for a video game that is an interface to a dictionary. ;-)– DrewCommented May 6, 2016 at 22:50
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2Have you tried looking up "stuck fast" is a dictionary - such as at macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/stuck-fast ? Please note that you are asked to do at least some simple research before asking a question. If the dictionary explanation doesn't help then please explain why.– TrevorDCommented May 6, 2016 at 22:51
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to be fair, I think that OP was looking more for context as in terms of origin in video games, though this is not what the asked for.– socratesCommented May 6, 2016 at 23:08
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3 Answers
The older meaning of fast, with an example dating from the 9th century, has to do with things being solid or firm.
The first OED definition is:
I. Firm. a. 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.
There are seven senses in which this is used with multiple sub-categories.
It is only when you get to sense 8, that the meanings take on anything to do with speed. And compared to the year 888 for fast meaning firm, the speed sense has its earliest example from as recently as 1400.
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It seems I upvoted this, as it actually answers the questions. Whether or not mere access to OED being sufficient should be considered essentially evidence of a question being genref is too hard to think about. Commented May 7, 2016 at 9:29
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@EdwinAshworth I would be interested to know how many people there are in the UK who do not have free on-line access to the OED.– WS2Commented May 7, 2016 at 9:55
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Does make one wonder if the idiom "fast and loose" is not then an oxymoron. Commented May 7, 2016 at 13:06
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@HotLicks The OED gives an explanation of fast and loose. It originates from the 16th C, but the definitive explanation is from: 1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words I Fast-and-loose, a cheating game played with a stick and a belt or string, so arranged that a spectator would think he could make the latter fast by placing a stick through its intricate folds, whereas the operator could detach it at once.– WS2Commented May 7, 2016 at 14:09
To be stuck fast simply means to be completely stuck and too rigid to be manipulated (here's a source). Furthermore, fast generally can mean (this is one of the alternate definitions of the word you'd normally associate with speed) firm and resistant, which means stuck fast isn't some anomalous phrase in which fast takes on a completely new definition, but rather a simple combination of two words correlated in meaning.
In terms of origin, perhaps rather surprisingly, the modern, most common definition qualifying something's speed actually came after the original definition, which is in fact the one in stuck fast.
Here's an excerpt from dictionary.com:
Old English fæst ‘firmly fixed, steadfast’ and fæste ‘firmly, securely’ In Middle English the adverb developed the senses ‘strongly, vigorously’ (compare with run hard ), and ‘close, immediate’ (just surviving in the archaic and poetic fast by ; compare with hard by ), hence ‘closely, immediately’ and ‘quickly’; the idea of rapid movement was then reflected in adjectival use.
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It seems as if I down voted this by accident (no doubt when using hands which have seen service in many a less delicate task, to operate a smart phone). I apologise, but apparently there is nothing I can do to rectify the situation.– WS2Commented May 7, 2016 at 5:25
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It simply means that the door is stuck very tightly and is otherwise unable to be opened at all.
From the Macmillan Dictionary:
unable to move at all
Video games will say this to suggest that there is no way you would be able to open the door, even by force. Saying stuck fast dissuades the player from becoming annoyed at the game; if the door was just stuck, why couldn't our space marine ram it down with his shoulder? It's because the door is stuck to the degree that it really can't be opened.
