au doigt mouillé

French

Etymology

A reference to the practise of moistening one's finger and putting it upright to find which way the wind goes approximately. Compare Dutch nattevingerwerk, English finger to the wind.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /o dwa mu.je/

• Audio:

  (file)

Prepositional phrase

au doigt mouillé

1. (informal) by the seat of one's pants, as a rule of thumb

   une estimation au doigt mouillé ― a ballpark estimate

See also

• à la louche
• au pif
• au petit bonheur
• au hasard