Question

Fly by the Seat of Your Pants to do something by instinct and feel without any earlier experience or instruction

Accepted Answer

I had to entertain Dad's friends from Italy. I didn't know their language, so I just flew by the seat of my pants. This phrase was popular among members of the U.S. Army Air Corps in the 1930s. Often, there were few or no instruments on the planes and sometimes the instruments didn't work. So a pilot had to sit tight (on the seat of his pants) and fly an airplane by instinct. Today if you're doing any kind of project and there are no instructions, you may have to "fly by the seat of your pants." You proceed by intuition, natural talent, or common sense.

Idiom	Fly by the Seat of Your Pants
Example	I had to entertain Dad's friends from Italy. I didn't know their language, so I just flew by the seat of my pants.
Meaning	to do something by instinct and feel without any earlier experience or instruction
Origin	This phrase was popular among members of the U.S. Army Air Corps in the 1930s. Often, there were few or no instruments on the planes and sometimes the instruments didn't work. So a pilot had to sit tight (on the seat of his pants) and fly an airplane by instinct. Today if you're doing any kind of project and there are no instructions, you may have to "fly by the seat of your pants." You proceed by intuition, natural talent, or common sense.

Seat I Fly Pants Instruments Entertain Dad's Friends