English Idioms from A-Z

Play It By Ear

The idiom "play it by ear" means to handle a situation without having a plan or a set course of action. It means to make decisions as the situation unfolds, based on the information and circumstances at hand.

For example, if you are planning a party and you are not sure how many people will attend, you can say "let's play it by ear" meaning that you will wait and see how many people show up before deciding on the food and drinks to serve.

This idiom is often used in situations where there is uncertainty, and it is not possible to make a definite plan in advance. It is also used when flexibility is required, and you need to be able to adapt to changing circumstances.

In summary, "play it by ear" means to be flexible and make decisions as you go, without a pre-planned course of action.


The usage of the idiom 'Play It By Ear' in a sentence

• I haven't decided what to wear to the party yet, so I'll just play it by ear.

• I'm not sure if I'll have time to go to the movies tonight, I'll just play it by ear and see how my work goes.

• We don't have a set itinerary for our trip, we'll just play it by ear and see where the road takes us.

• I haven't made any plans for the weekend yet, I think I'll just play it by ear and see what everyone else wants to do.

• As an improvisational comedian, I always play it by ear and let the audience guide my performance.

• I haven't prepared for the meeting yet. I will just play it by ear and see what the others are talking about before I speak.

• I'm going on a road trip across the country, but I don't have a strict itinerary. I want to play it by ear and explore different places along the way.

• I don't have a specific game plan for my presentation, I'll just play it by ear and see how the audience responds.

• I'm not sure what time the concert starts. I will just play it by ear and arrive early to make sure I don't miss anything.

• My friend and I are planning to go to the beach tomorrow, but we haven't decided on a time yet. We will just play it by ear and see how the weather is.

• I have a lot of work to do, but I'm not sure where to start. I will play it by ear and prioritize my tasks based on their importance.

• I don't know what movie to watch tonight. I will just play it by ear and decide when we get to the theatre.

• I am not sure if I can come to the party, I'll just play it by ear and see if I am free.

• As an experienced musician, he can play it by ear and improvise on the spot during a live performance.

• Our travel itinerary is not fixed, we'll just play it by ear and visit places that interest us.

• I haven't made any plans for the weekend, I think I'll just play it by ear and see what comes up.

• The CEO decided to play it by ear and make a last-minute change to the company's strategy, which turned out to be a huge success.

• The weather is unpredictable today, so we'll have to play it by ear and decide whether to have the picnic or not.

• I have not prepared for the presentation, I'll just play it by ear and see if I can improvise.

• I'm not sure what time we should leave for the party, let's just play it by ear.

• As an experienced musician, I can confidently say that playing it by ear is an important skill to have for any musician.

• The presentation didn't go as planned, so I had to play it by ear and adjust my speech on the spot.

• Let's not make any concrete plans yet, we can play it by ear and decide as we go along.

• My friend and I haven't decided what movie to watch yet, we'll just play it by ear when we get to the theater.

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