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She also wrote in a fundraising campaign set for David online, "No more isolation from people or places, restrictions, living in hospitals; only swimming pools, going places, fun, playing with other kids, going hard and fast to make it count! (source)


I wonder how I have to understand this phrase "going hard and fast to make it count". I've known that a "hard-and-fast" phrase is used as in "hard and fast rule", in which "hard and fast" means unchangeable for whatever reason and whatever situation.

In this article, what meaning does this "going hard and fast to make it count" convey, especially "hard and fast" part?

Could I rephrase it like this: I will do whatever to make it count with an unwavering heart.

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Reading the context, the 8-year-old boy has been diagnosed with cancer four times in his short life. He might not have much time left to play with other kids and enjoy quality time.

Going hard and fast is used to express an irony which is:

The expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect:

[Oxford Online Dictionary]

He can't move hard and fast as he has cancer and hard and fast doesn't seem to mean what you have in mind.

I think it rather means he will make the most of the time left with a strong will and determination before his condition deteriorates further and prevents him from having quality time.

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  • It's really a helpful answer which I've really been waiting for. Thanks!! Nov 25, 2015 at 13:37
  • It's probably worth pointing out that in the standard "fixed phrase" collocation hard and fast, the word fast means firm[ly], fixed[ly], not rapid[ly], quick[ly]. But in the cited (non-standard) example, I imagine it probably does carry that sense. Nov 25, 2015 at 14:12
  • @FumbleFingers Yes, that fits well with rules as in hard-and-fast rules.
    – user24743
    Nov 25, 2015 at 14:17
  • When applied to things like rules, the expression has the meaning Rigidly laid down or prescribed; fixed, inflexible; definitive (that's the relevant definition in OED). But I see they also have another definition With great energy or effort; vigorously, diligently. Also in later use: wildly, without restraint, which I only know in the specific context of live hard and fast. It sounds odd to me to use it with go, but I suppose anything goes here. Nov 25, 2015 at 14:26
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    Yeah - I'm sure the context (boy likely to die prematurely) is crucial here, so it's a good job you found it (in all fairness, OP might well not have realised that was significant). I suppose technically speaking hard and fast [rule] = uncompromising is an "idiom", because neither of the two words have their more common senses there, whereas to [live] live hard and fast is just using both words with their "normal" senses, so it's not really an idiom by some definitions. Nov 25, 2015 at 16:20

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