play it by ear 見機行事: to improvise or to do something without preparation; to decide how to deal with a situation as it develops, rather than acting according to plans made earlier

Examples:
1) I don’t know we would end up tonight, so let’s just play it by ear.
2) “I can’t tell you what to expect.” “Don’t worry. I’ll play it by ear.

(India Times, 2021/07/08)

Wary of third wave, handset companies play it by ear on fresh hiring

擔心受到第三波疫情影響,手機廠商在雇用新人方面決定見機行事

Recruiters and handset makers remain cautious on hiring amid fears of a third wave of Covid-19 and as recruiting fully vaccinated employees becomes a challenge.

The industry body, India Cellular Electronics Association (ICEA), says the five-year initial target was to create 200,000 permanent and 300,000 temporary jobs. ICEA represents Apple, iPhone makers Foxconn, Wistron and other manufacturers like Lava, UTL and Optiemus, among others.

人資部門和手機製造廠因為擔憂第三波疫情再起,也因為不容易找到接種過兩劑疫苗的員工,現在都很謹慎。印度行動通訊電子協會是這個行業的組織,它說原先的五年目標是創造二十萬個永久性的工作,以及30萬個臨時職位。
該協會代表蘋果,製造iPhone的鴻海和緯創,還有其他廠商。

(Los Angeles Times, 2020/07/06)

In England, the monarch is the head of state but not the head of government. This distinction allows the monarchy to stay above the partisan fray and be a relatively uniting institution for the whole country. In the U.S., presidents play it by ear; they are sometimes party leaders and sometimes leaders of the whole country. Historically, they are everyone’s president on the Fourth of July. For Trump, however, the holiday handed him free campaign air time and little more.

在英國,君主是一國元首,卻不是政府領袖。這點分別讓君主超越黨派紛爭,成為能團結整個國家的機構。在美國,總統卻是見機行事,有的時候是政黨領導人,有時候是國家領袖。不過歷史上,在國慶日當天,總統仍是大家的總統。但是對川普來說,這個國定假日給了免費的競選時間,沒什麼別的意義。

Sound (中文解釋): Soundon

Photos: Indian TImes; Los Angeles Times