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fly by the seat of one's pants. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
fly by the seat of one's pants, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
fly by the seat of one's pants in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Pronunciation
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)
- (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.
- (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.
Translations
to pilot an aircraft using only instinct, visual observation, and practical judgment
to improvise a course of action