fly blind
Proceed without guidance
To fly blind is to proceed without guidance, information, or visibility.
The phrase comes from aviation, where pilots fly blind when they cannot see outside the cockpit and must rely on instruments—or have no instruments at all.
In general use, it describes operating without the data or direction you'd normally want: We're flying blind here—no one told us the budget.
The phrase emphasizes risk and uncertainty.
State of being unsure
- guessworkConclusions drawn without proof
- dangerExposure to harm
- perilSerious threat of harm
- hazardSource of potential harm
recklessness · gamble · chance · vulnerability · exposure · jeopardy · precariousness · unpredictability
Innate behavioral tendency
- gut feelingInstinctive sense about something
- hunchUnproven inner sense
- sixth senseExtrasensory perception ability
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
winging it · feel · sensing · spontaneity · ad-lib · playing by ear · without a net · unscripted
One who steers aircraft
- cockpitPilot's control compartment
- instrumentationDesign of measuring devices
- navigationDetermining position and course
- zero visibilityNo sight possible
cloud cover · fog · radar · altimeter · gyroscope · IFR · disorientation · spatial awareness
Lacking necessary knowledge
- cluelessLacking any understanding
- in the darkUninformed about something
- unawareLacking knowledge of something
- obliviousLacking any awareness
blindsided · unprepared · ill-equipped · fumbling · groping · knowledge gap
uncertainty
State of being unsure
hazard · recklessness · gamble · chance · vulnerability · exposure · jeopardy · precariousness · unpredictability · leap of faith
instinct
Innate behavioral tendency
- gut feelingInstinctive sense about something
- hunchUnproven inner sense
- sixth senseExtrasensory perception ability
improvisation · winging it · feel · sensing · spontaneity · ad-lib · playing by ear · without a net · unscripted · freestyling
pilot
One who steers aircraft
- cockpitPilot's control compartment
- instrumentationDesign of measuring devices
- navigationDetermining position and course
zero visibility · cloud cover · fog · radar · altimeter · gyroscope · IFR · disorientation · spatial awareness · aircraft
uninformed
Lacking necessary knowledge
- cluelessLacking any understanding
- in the darkUninformed about something
- unawareLacking knowledge of something
oblivious · blindsided · unprepared · ill-equipped · fumbling · groping · knowledge gap
- flightflight, aviation, aircraft, airplane, airplanes
- learning processbeginner stage, trial and error, learn by doing, orientation, onboarding