/ · 1894 Brewer’s · L · Loose Fish (A)
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A dissipated man. We also speak of a “queer fish,” and the word “fishy” means of very doubtful character. A loose fish is one that has made its way out of the net; and applied to man it means one who has thrown off moral restraint.
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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.