SEAT-OF-THE-PANTS

PRONUNCIATION: (see-tuhv-thuh-PANTS)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Using experience, instinct, or guesswork as opposed to methodical planning.
2. Done without instruments.

ETYMOLOGY: The term has its origin in aviation. Before modern instruments, a pilot flew a plane based on how it felt. For example, in fog or clouds, in the absence of instrumentation one could tell whether the plane was climbing or diving by how heavy one feels in the seat. Seat of the pants is the area where one sits, i.e. the buttocks. Earliest documented use: 1929.
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SEAT-OFF-THE-PANTS - what you do with your Doctor Dentins to use the toilet

SEAN-OF-THE-PANTS - saga of a plucky Irish tailor; also known as "Seven-with-One-Blow"

SEAT-OF-THE-RANTS - long-since-forgotten childhood trauma that is the source of explosive outbursts of anger in later life