{"id":1415,"date":"2022-02-26T19:10:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T19:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=1415"},"modified":"2022-02-26T19:10:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T19:10:00","slug":"as-the-crow-flies-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/as-the-crow-flies-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"As the Crow Flies - Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you ask someone the distance from your location to your destination, they might respond with its five miles, \u201cas the crow flies<\/em>.\u201d What do they mean?<\/p>\n

This post gives you everything you need to know about the meaning and origin of this idiomatic expression.<\/p>\n

As the Crow Flies Meaning<\/h2>\n

\u201cAs the crow flies<\/em>\u201d is an idiomatic expression referring to the straight-line distance between two points. For instance, if someone asks you for directions and how far it is to their destination, you could respond with \u201cits five miles as the crow flies<\/em>,\u201d but it might be about 7-miles total distance after you work in the detours and turns in the trip.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the Crow Flies Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\u201cSure, I know how far it is to the next town; it\u2019s around 15-miles north as the crow flies<\/em>. However, there are plenty of twists and turns in the road, and you can expect it to take you around an hour to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to the map, the hotel is about ten miles south; as the crow flies<\/em>, we could be there in time for check-in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Europe is about 4,000 miles or so from New York, as the crow flies<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go for about ten miles, as the crow flies<\/em>, you should find the cove.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

As the Crow Flies Origin<\/h2>\n

\u201cAs the crow flies<\/em>\u201d is an old expression, tracing back to the mid-1700s. The earliest written record of the use of the phrase goes back to 1761, where it appears in \u201cSentiments relating to the late Negotiation<\/em>,\u201d an article published in \u201cThe Gentleman\u2019s and London Magazine: and Monthly Chronologer<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The phrase reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow the country which those Indians inhabit is upwards of 400 miles broad, and above 600 long, each as the crow flies<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

A decade later, the phrase would appear in \u201cA Journey from Gibraltar to Malaga; with a View of that Garrison and its Environs; a Particular Account of the Towns in the Hoya of Malaga; the Ancient and Natural History of those Cities, of the Coast between them, and of the Mountains of Ronda<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Francis Carter used the phrase in 1772 in the following context.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Spaniard, if on foot, always travels as the crow flies<\/em>, which the openness and dryness of the country permits.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cBath Chronicle<\/em>\u201d would also use the phrase in its publication in 1774, using it in the following context.<\/p>\n

\u201cProved that the churches by the travellable [sic] road were 48, in the direct line, or as the crow flies<\/em>, 43 measured miles asunder.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cLincoln, Rutland, and Stamford Mercury<\/em>\u201d would also use the phrase in 1791 in its publication, where it reads as follows.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe distance, as the crow flies<\/em>, is upwards of ten miles.\u201d<\/p>\n