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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

seat-of-the-pants en · ADJ

Pronunciation

Etymology

From seat + of + the + pants.

Meanings

  1. (US, idiomatic, not-comparable) Done by feel, guess, or trial and error rather than by careful planning, thought or technique.
    • The new pension-fund managers are an eclectic group, displaying a spectrum of styles and strategies. Some rely chiefly on computers and charts, while others are more likely to trust their seat-of-the-pants judgment. 1984 January 9, Charles Alexander, Frederick Ungeheuer, “The Billion-Dollar Boys”, in Time:

Relateds

fly by the seat of one's pants