As the crow flies

In a straight line, by the shortest route, as in It's only a mile as the crow flies, but about three miles by this mountain road. This idiom is based on the fact that crows, very intelligent birds, fly straight to the nearest food supply. [Late 1700s]

The adverb has one meaning:

Meaning #1: by the shortest and most direct route

For the Jeffrey Archer novel, see As the Crow Flies.

Corvus corone in flight

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Great-circle distance. (Discuss)

"As the crow flies" is an idiom referencing the shortest route between two points.

An example is a measure of the distance between Key West and Pensacola, at the two opposite ends of the U.S. state Florida where the most direct route by road is approximately 792 mi (1,275 km) and the direct point-to-point aerial path that might be taken by a crow is 524 mi (843 km).^[1]

The phrase is attested in print as early as 1800, and its origin is often attributed to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.^[2]

References

1. ^ "How Far Is It". indo.com. 2006. http://www.indo.com/cgi-bin/dist?place1=key+west%2Cfl&place2=pensacola%2C+fl. Retrieved 2008-02-12. 
2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001). "Crow (n.)". Crow (n.). http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=As+the+crow+flies. Retrieved 2008-02-12. 

External links

Look up as the crow flies in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• A tool for computing distances on Google maps
• How Far Is It? | Indo.com
• Uk Postcode to Postcode | Postcode.org.uk

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