[General] how to say "making plans according to the situation"?

[sbby]

Is there any brief or idiomatic way to express the meaning stated below?
I have two plans in mind, with one being the preferable plan and the other a back-up plan. Could we decide which plan to choose depending on the progress of the project?
Basically I want to say "making plans according to the situation".
thanks a lot!!!!

 

[Skrej]

A backup plan is sometimes referred to idiomatically as 'plan B', (or C, D, etc., depending upon how many prior plans have failed ;-)).

So you could say something like "If things aren't far enough along, we'll go with plan B, otherwise we'll stick with the original plan."

 

[SoothingDave]

You could say you are deferring a decision until you see how the project progresses.

More colloquially, and borrowing from American football (it is Super Bowl week), you could say that you may have to "call an audible" to go to a backup plan.

 

[GoesStation]

You could say you are deferring a decision until you see how the project progresses.

More colloquially, and borrowing from American football (it is Super Bowl week), you could say that you may have to "call an audible" to go to a backup plan.

May I respectfully suggest that American English already contains too many obscure sports terms? A friend who worked in an international company was frequently frustrated when colleagues mystified one another with vocabulary that didn't work in the other's version of English. I know it's a sticky wicket, but English learners make enough own goals* already.

*Did I use that one right? I'm not much of a soccer aficionado, but I've read it (or something like it) in The Economist.

 

[SoothingDave]

It is what it is. The OP asked for a "brief or idiomatic" way. I also provided a way to express the idea in "standard" English.

 

[emsr2d2]

We don't make own goals. We score own goals. Even when used outside a soccer context, the same phrase is used. "Wow! He's really scored an own goal there!"

 

[Skrej]

May I respectfully suggest that American English already contains too many obscure sports terms? A friend who worked in an international company was frequently frustrated when colleagues mystified one another with vocabulary that didn't work in the other's version of English.

Why stop with just sports terms? Let's eliminate all the obscure cooking, food, color, art, body, weapon, drug, military, legal, sex, music, theater, political, slang, ethnic, animal, and nature terms as well. Better yet, since idioms are almost by definition obscure, let's just avoid all idiomatic language and have everybody speak one standard whitewashed variant of English across the world.

While we're at it, we'll standardize spelling, vocabulary, pronunciation, and accents across all variants of English.

We'll have all 350 million or so native English speakers vote in referendum on what makes the final approved list. :argue:

We'll establish our own version of the Académie française on crack,and call it the Academy of Suitable Sanctioned English Standards. (ASSES):-D


P.S.
I'll kick things off by demanding that the word 'flummox' be designated as mandatory vocabulary. There just isn't enough usage of the word 'flummox' in English today.

 

[tedmc]

The closest idiom I can think of is "to play by ear".
It means dealing with a situation as it develops, without following a fixed plan. You can have a tentative plan which can be adjusted to suit different situations.

 

[sbby]

thank you all for your opinions!