play fast and loose

Fig. to act carelessly, thoughtlessly, and irresponsibly. I'm tired of your playing fast and loose with me. Leave me alone. Bob got fired for playing fast and loose with the company's money.

Be recklessly irresponsible, unreliable, or deceitful, as in This reporter is known for playing fast and loose with the facts. This term probably originated in a 16th-century game called "fast and loose," played at country fairs. A belt was doubled and held with the loop at table's edge, and the player had to catch the loop with a stick as the belt was unrolled-an impossible feat. The term was already used figuratively by the late 1500s, especially for trifling with someone's affections.

To behave in a recklessly irresponsible or deceitful manner: played fast and loose with the facts.