seat (redirected from seating)

be (sitting) in the catbird seat (American, old-fashioned)

to be in a position of power and importance. He'll be sitting in the catbird seat when the boss retires.

See also: catbird

be in the driving seat (British, American & Australian)

to be in control of a situation. The consumer is in the driving seat due to the huge range of goods on the market.

See also: driving

bums on seats (British & Australian, informal, American, informal)

if a public performance or a sports event puts bums on seats, many people pay to go and see it. This production needs a big name to put bums on seats.

See also: bum

by the seat of your pants

if you do something by the seat of your pants, you do it using your own experience and ability, without help from anyone else. We found our way by the seat of our pants, but if I ever did another jungle trek I'd take a guide.

See also: pant

fly by the seat of your pants (informal)

to do something difficult without the necessary experience or ability. None of us had ever worked on a magazine before so we were flying by the seat of our pants. (often in continuous tenses)

See also: fly, pant

in the hot seat (British, American & Australian, American)

in a position where you are responsible for important or difficult things. He suddenly found himself in the hot seat, facing a hundred angry residents at a protest meeting. She has been the woman in the hot seat at this company during the last five difficult years.

See also: hot

keep someone on the edge of their seat (British, American & Australian, American)

if a story keeps you on the edge of your seat, it is very exciting and you want to know what is going to happen next. You must rent this video. It keeps you on the edge of your seat right up to the end.

See also: edge, keep

a ringside seat/view

if you have a ringside seat, you are in a good position to watch what is happening at an event. If there's going to be a confrontation between management and the unions, I'd like a ringside seat.

See also: view

take a back seat

1. if an activity takes a back seat, you spend less time doing that than other things. He's been putting all his energies into house-hunting recently so his studies have had to take a back seat. In my early twenties, politics very much took a back seat to sport and socializing. (sometimes + to)

2. to let other people take a more active and responsible part in an organization or a situation. I was content to take a back seat and let the rest of my family deal with the crisis.

See also: back, take

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fly by the seat of your pants

to do something difficult without the necessary experience or ability. None of us had ever worked on a magazine before so we were flying by the seat of our pants.

See also: fly, pant

in the catbird seat

in a position of power or influence. Throughout the 1990s, the company was in the catbird seat, with no serious competitors in its field.

See also: catbird

in the driver's seat

in control of a situation. Huge consumer demand for electricity has put energy companies in the driver's seat.

in the saddle

in the hot seat

in a difficult position. He suddenly found himself in the hot seat, facing angry residents who wanted him to resign.

See also: hot

keep you on the edge of your seat

to make you very excited or nervous because of uncertainty. It was one of those movies that was so suspenseful, it kept you on the edge of your seat right through to the end.

See also: edge, keep