the meaning of adj. FAST

[lukre]

STEVE: I only need a thousand.
HIS FATHER: Forget it!
STEVE:The fact that I'm asking you for money makes you feel I'm dependent on you. It actually ties us together.
HIS FATHER (SPEAKING TO HIS FRIEND): Fast, huh?
FATHER'S FRIEND: Chromosomes will tell.
STEVE: He's got a point. My father gets up-tight when I ask for money
he steals from other people.

What is the meaning of "fast" here? -could it be smart, clever, he's got a point...

[Trisia]

Hello

Yes, you're right. It does mean he's clever and he can come up with answers very quickly.

You can also use "quick-witted".

[bianca]

I wonder (I am not sure) if it doesn't mean that they are tied fast, i.e. firmly fastened to one another, in terms of genes, or maybe dependence on each other (since the friend answered: chromosoms will tell). It is kind of ambiguous.

[ICH]

Hi,

I think, from the little here, that 'fast' does actually mean quick to act, quick witted, a fast thinker. The following retort from the friend is quick too, and implies that the son is quick [ fast] like the father, probably a schemer or artful person.

[Casiopea]

I wonder (I am not sure) if it doesn't mean that they are tied fast, i.e. firmly fastened to one another, in terms of genes, or maybe dependence on each other (since the friend answered: chromosoms will tell). It is kind of ambiguous.

To my understanding, given the limited context, ties us together means makes us related in character. Steve is saying that he is like his father and so his father should trust him and lend him the money. Fast means the ability to think quickly, to be able to persuade someone into doing something they wouldn't normally do, to have the ability to manipulate a situation; e.g., clever, and Steve apparently gets that from his father's DNA: his father's friend points that out here, Chomosomes will tell.

Does that help?

[bianca]

oh yes, thank you.

[Casiopea]

You're most welcome.

_____________
I'm still not sure, though, what ties us together means exactly in that context.

[Trisia]

My guess is that "ties us together" is simply a sarcasm. Steve says that his father lending money to him isn't about dependence, it's about father-son bonding.

[Jason72]

My guess is that "ties us together" is simply a sarcasm. Steve says that his father lending money to him isn't about dependence, it's about father-son bonding.

It can be sarcasm. It is not possible to determine is it or is it not and to be one hundred percent correct.
We need more context (I know we say this very often, but it is true... )!