Flew by the Seat of My Pants
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Not surprisingly, the phrase is an old aviation saying. Since early aircraft did not have the many instruments modern planes have, pilots had to rely primarily on their own perceptions and judgment. Early pilots often flew without radios and other fancy gadgets. Instead, they learned to react to the feel of the plane. Of course, the body part that usually had the most contact with the plane was the pilot's backside.
Early pilots developed an ability to estimate wind speed, external temperature and the overall condition of an airplane simply by paying attention to their senses — including the sense of feeling from their backsides! If you can imagine flying a plane without a radio or other instruments through clouds or thick fog, you can begin to imagine what it must have been like for early pilots to fly by the seat of their pants! That same feeling can arise when you're thrown into an unexpected situation that requires action without preparation. That's why many of us fly by the seat of our pants without ever getting near an airplane!
Of course, modern pilots are glad that they can rely on instruments rather than the seat of their pants.
by the seat of (one's) pants
Likewise, you'll probably find that a little careful planning can go a long way toward making life less stressful. Not everyone likes to fly by the seat of their pants. Some people prefer to plan carefully. Which do you prefer? If you don't know, try this simple experiment with your friends or family sometime in the next week or so. Pick out two upcoming weekend days that you would normally do something together. What time will you get up?
What will you have for breakfast? Where will you go, and what will you do first?
Make a plan that clearly sets out your meals and activities. Set specific times for the things you plan to do. Don't forget to include time for travel and breaks. Give the day no thought whatsoever. Just mark it on your calendar, so that — when you wake up that day — you can put on fresh pants and proceed to fly by them!
After you're finished with both days, take some time to think about how each day went. Did you like the convenience of having a plan to follow? Or did you prefer the freedom simply to do anything on a whim? Hopefully you learned that there are benefits to both types of days. Careful planning is often necessary to make sure that things happen that need to happen. On the other hand, it's also nice to allow room in a plan for the unexpected. You never know when a surprise opportunity will present itself.
In your own lives, it's important to plan for the future while also leaving plenty of room to be flexible. English does have a lot of strange idioms like this one that can be tricky. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, S Kleen! It does look fun, Sally. Early flight "instrumentation" consisted largely of a magnetic compass which is only useful when flying straight and level and a length of string really! While the phrase may have been used in a pejorative sense in your example, it isn't always the case. Improvising everything in life probably isn't a good idea, but instruments metrics lie, and blindly following procedures can exacerbate a problem that situational awareness and instincts developed through experience could have nipped in the bud.
It means the same as "play it by ear" or "wing it" - to improvise plans and procedures as necessary. In addition, one thing that personally helped me understand the logic —or how the phrase can make any sense—was this definition of "seat" in the NOAD emphasis mine:. You see, I had thought "seat" can only mean a chair or such! Probably related to the fact I'm a 2nd language speaker.
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Can You Fly By the Seat Of Your Pants?
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