This expression means to be free of obligations or responsibilities and specifically applies to a person's unattached status. Besides the literal origin from the combination of the words 'foot' and 'loose' it may allude to the mooring lines, called 'foot' lines, on the bottom of the sails of seventeenth and eighteenth century ships. Loosing these 'foot lines' allowed the sails to flap freely, hence 'footloose'. The figurative modern sense developed later, first appearing in print around 1873.

Übersetzung:

frei und ungebunden sein

Gegenteil(e)

The opposite of "to be footloose and fancy free" is "to be bound".

Synonym(e):

You could also say: to be free to act as one pleases.