This is one of my favorite idioms and one I have to explain to students a lot:
A person who can "play by ear" is a person who can imitate and play a song without reading the music for it. In conversation, it has come to mean, "let's improvise" or "let's see how it goes" or quite literally, "let's not plan out every detail ahead of time and instead react to changes in circumstance in the moment as they happen." For example, when Miami Heat player Dwayne Wade dislocated his shoulder in a game against the Rockets in 2007, President Pat Riley said he wanted to "limit Wade's minutes to about 20 a game." Wade was not fully healed, so Riley said:
"He's not back yet... He's going to need seven games. He's going to need whatever time it is. We'll have to play it by ear."
In other words, the player wasn't fully healed, and Riley couldn't speak too soon about when he would be able to play a full game.
-Bill
Source: Nance, R. (2007, April 10) Wade rejoins Shaq as playoffs loom; Heat didn't lose a step without star guard, USA Today, Sports pp. 3C.
"He's not back yet... He's going to need seven games. He's going to need whatever time it is. We'll have to play it by ear."
In other words, the player wasn't fully healed, and Riley couldn't speak too soon about when he would be able to play a full game.
-Bill
Source: Nance, R. (2007, April 10) Wade rejoins Shaq as playoffs loom; Heat didn't lose a step without star guard, USA Today, Sports pp. 3C.
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