fly by the seat of one's pants

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

fly by the seat of one's pants (third-person singular simple present flies by the seat of one's pants, present participle flying by the seat of one's pants, simple past flew by the seat of one's pants, past participle flown by the seat of one's pants)

1. (idiomatic) To pilot an aircraft without the aid of instruments and without a flight plan, using only instinct, visual observation, and practical judgment.
   • 1955 February 21, “Planes for Pleasure”, in Time:

     Between world wars, when Douglas Bader was a cocky, teen-age R.A.F. cadet . . . a man could navigate by eye and the nearest railroad track and fly by the seat of his pants.

2. (idiomatic, by extension) To use one's judgment, initiative, and perceptions as events unfold in order to improvise a course of action without a predetermined plan or without the desirable data inputs to decision making.

   Synonyms: play by ear, make it up as one goes along, wing it

   • 2010 January 14, Jacob Heilbrunn, “Election Confidential”, in New York Times, retrieved 25 June 2011:

     “Unlike Obama and his methodical process, McCain was flying by the seat of his pants,” the authors observe.

Related terms

• in flight
• on the fly
• pantser
• pantsing
• seat-of-the-pants

 

Translations

to pilot an aircraft using only instinct, visual observation, and practical judgment

• French: naviguer (fr) / piloter (fr) / ... à vue (fr)
• Portuguese: realizar um voo cego, pilotar sem a ajuda de aparelhos

to improvise a course of action

• French: naviguer à vue (fr), décider (fr) / agir (fr) / ... au doigt mouillé (fr)
• Portuguese: fazer com a cara e a coragem, fazer o que dá na cabeça, fazer de improviso, improvisar (pt)