fly by the seat of your pants

fly by the seat of (one's) pants

To rely on one's instinct, as opposed to acting according to a set plan. I really don't know how to operate this thing, I'm just flying by the seat of my pants here. You can't just fly by the seat of your pants, Jenna—please give your future some serious thought.
See also: by, fly, of, pant, seat
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fly by the seat of your pants

INFORMAL
If you fly by the seat of your pants, you use your judgment and intelligence to do something that you have never done before, in a way that is risky, because you have no experience or training to rely on. `In the first year of trading we knew nothing and were flying by the seat of our pants,' Petti said. The truth is that all new parents fly by the seat of their pants and try to learn quickly from experience. Note: You can also use seat-of-the-pants before a noun. It had always been a seat-of-the-pants type of organization.
See also: by, fly, of, pant, seat
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • fly by the seat of (one's) pants
  • at (one's) doorstep
  • at doorstep
  • at the end of (one's) fingertips
  • (one's) jig is up
  • at (one's) door
  • at door
  • at one's door
  • at expense
  • at (one's) expense
References in periodicals archive
As with a conversation to which you enter without advance knowledge about how all the words will be woven together, be prepared to fly by the seat of your pants.
What is expected of me during a situational interview?
As far as one trip is concerned, you might fly by the seat of your pants this weekend, to speak.
STARS; ASTROLOGER JUSTIN TOPER ON YOUR WEEKEND AHEAD
When investing, particularly in sovereign bonds, don't fly by the seat of your pants; don't be complacent.
Both today's issuers and investors remain upbeat
You fly by the seat of your pants when investing in emerging markets.
Widen your horizons and reap the rewards
"You fly by the seat of your pants. No pressure on us.
I'm just not one for getting old; MUSIC
"You fly by the seat of your pants. No pressure on us, we didn't have to release it if we didn't like it, we just made what we wanted.
John Lydon the frontman of Public Image Limited reveals how he has been let down so badly; In part two of our exclusive John Lydon interview he reveals how he has been let down bad in the past year but is so proud of his new album
Renshaw's managing director, Robin Mountain said: "You can't just fly by the seat of your pants. You have to have a plan.
ICING ON THE CAKE; Festive rush for city marzipan manufacturer
A fabulous aspect today gives you the upper edge if you dare to go with the flow, fly by the seat of your pants and believe that what you think is impossible, is doable.
Your stars
Do you execute a well-prepared plan, or do you fly by the seat of your pants and simply react when adversity strikes?
Mission: excellence: how you respond to challenges determines the altitude you'll reach in life
"You must fly by the seat of your pants in this job.
FOOTBALL: EURO 2000 - HONEYMOON'S OVER, KEV
"I think you have to fly by the seat of your pants because it asks different questions of you.
FOOTBALL: EURO 2000: KEEP IT COOL AND WE CAN RULE SAYS KEEGAN
Where is the computer you fly by the seat of your pants? Look at the most elementary applications.
A Plea for Dumb Computers
Do you have a structured preceptorship or do you fly by the seat of your pants? Are you a model of ideal behavior?
Editorial: Imprinting
Everything's come so quickly you've got to fly by the seat of your pants and hope you've covered everything, then come back later and give a second look.
Constructing new markets for spent foundry sand
I feel like an under-prepared stand-up comic when things go wrong (we have a number of false starts in RPM), but the crowds are forgiving and it's pleasing to fly by the seat of your pants! We have a short gap before playing at the Bridge Hotel to 100 people, including close friends.
Whirlwind week ends where it all began; MUSIC