on the fly
idiom; informal

- quickly and without much preparation, often while doing something else

- without planning in advance, especially while events are unfolding

- hurriedly or without pausing

Cambridge Dictionary, Collins COBUILD, Dictionary.com

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PHRASE ORIGIN

On the fly originally meant in mid-air or while moving through the air. By the mid-19th century, people spoke of catching a ball “on the fly”—before it struck the ground.

The expression is frequently linked to baseball, where a fly ball is hit high into the air. Baseball probably helped popularise it, but the available evidence doesn’t establish that the game alone created the phrase. The underlying image of catching something in motion is broader and older.

The figurative sense developed during the same period: doing something without stopping to prepare, as though catching a problem while it was still airborne. It later became particularly useful in computing. A program that translates or alters data on the fly does so while it’s running, without first bringing everything to a halt.

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THE MAILBOX THAT SAVED APOLLO 13

On 13 April 1970, an oxygen tank exploded aboard Apollo 13. The Moon landing was abandoned, and the lunar module Aquarius became a lifeboat.

It had been designed to support two astronauts for two days. Now it had to keep three alive for roughly four. Carbon dioxide began building up because the module’s supply of lithium hydroxide—the chemical used to remove it from the air—was running short.

The command module carried spare filters, but they were square. The lunar module accepted round ones. NASA engineers faced the proverbial problem of fitting a square peg into a round hole, with no opportunity to manufacture a proper adaptor.

Working with items already aboard the spacecraft, they designed and tested a makeshift device on Earth. Mission Control then read the assembly instructions to the crew. The astronauts used plastic bags, cardboard from a flight-plan card, a spacesuit hose and duct tape to connect the incompatible equipment.

The ungainly contraption became known as the “mailbox”. Once installed, it quickly reduced the carbon-dioxide level.

Improvisation is sometimes dismissed as inadequate planning; aboard Apollo 13, solving the problem on the fly was the only plan available.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

ad hoc, extempore, impromptu, off the cuff, ON THE FLY, spontaneously, without preparation

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