play fast and loose vs prate

play fast and loose

verb
  • To act in a tricky, inconstant way, saying one thing and doing another. 

  • To be recklessly inaccurate, inappropriate, or otherwise ignoring guidelines and conventions. 

  • To ignore proper behavior or social conventions, especially when it suits one's purpose. 

prate

verb
  • To talk much and to little purpose; to be loquacious; to speak foolishly. 

noun
  • Talk to little purpose; trifling talk; unmeaningful loquacity. 

How often have the words play fast and loose and prate occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )