fly by the seat of one's pants

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

flybytheseatofone'spants(third-person singular simple presentflies by the seat of one's pants,present participleflying by the seat of one's pants,simple pastflew by the seat of one's pants,past participleflown by the seat of one's pants)

1. (idiomatic)Topilotanaircraftwithout the aid of instruments and without aflight plan,using onlyinstinct,visual observation, andpracticaljudgment.
   • 1955February 21, “Planes for Pleasure”,inTime:

     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 andfly by the seat of his pants.

2. (idiomatic,by extension)To use one'sjudgment,initiative,andperceptionsas events unfold in order toimprovisea course of action without apredeterminedplan or without the desirable data inputs to decision making.

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

   • 2010January 14, Jacob Heilbrunn, “Election Confidential”,inNew York Times,retrieved25 June 2011:

     “Unlike Obama and his methodical process, McCain wasflying 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:realizarumvoo cego,pilotarsemaajudadeaparelhos

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)