no hard and fast rules

no hard and fast rules

No rules or guidelines that are binding, rigidly adhered to, and/or clearly defined. The manager has no hard and fast rules, so he has no way of keeping his employees in line. Unfortunately, the drug is so still so new that there aren't really any hard and fast rules about proper dosage.
See also: and, fast, hard, no, rule
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • hard and fast
  • play by (one's) rules
  • play by somebody's rules
  • according to Hoyle
  • make (something) up as (one) goes (along)
  • Mr Clean
  • Mr. Clean
  • by the numbers
  • a law unto
  • a law unto yourself
References in periodicals archive
As we have seen, vernacular names can be misleading, and no hard and fast rules apply.