ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

On the fly

On the fly means doing something quickly as you go, without needing to stop and plan it out beforehand. It's like when you're drawing a picture and you need to change the colors as you go, so you pick a new color from your markers without stopping to think about it.

In the bigger world, on the fly can refer to many things. For example, if you're watching a soccer game and you suddenly notice that one team is playing really well, you might say that they're making adjustments on the fly to improve their game plan. This means that they're changing their strategy as they go, without needing to stop and take a break to talk about it.

Another way to think about on the fly is when you're learning something new. Let's say you're trying to figure out how to do a math problem that you've never seen before. Instead of stopping to read a whole book about it, you might start trying different methods on the fly to see what works best. This means you're trying new things as you go, without needing to stop and figure everything out beforehand.

Overall, on the fly just means doing things quickly and easily without needing to stop and plan everything out in advance.