Idiom
fly by the seat of one's pants
Meaning
To pilot an aircraft without the aid of instruments and without a flight plan, using only instinct, visual observation, and practical judgment.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“I did not prepare, so I am flying by the seat of my pants.”
“Without a clear plan for the meeting, the manager had to fly by the seat of his pants to answer the client's questions.”
“Lacking both a map and a reliable guide, the explorers were forced to fly by the seat of their pants as they navigated the dense, uncharted forest.”
Examples
simple
“I did not prepare, so I am flying by the seat of my pants.”
contextual
“Without a clear plan for the meeting, the manager had to fly by the seat of his pants to answer the client's questions.”
complex
“Lacking both a map and a reliable guide, the explorers were forced to fly by the seat of their pants as they navigated the dense, uncharted forest.”
Key words
Related idioms
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