as the crow flies
In a straight line distance between two locations, as opposed to the road distance or over land distance.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“It's ten miles as the crow flies, but fifteen by road.”
“Our houses are only two blocks apart as the crow flies.”
“The village is only five kilometres as the crow flies, but the mountain road takes an hour to drive.”
“The hotel is quite close as the crow flies, but you have to take a long ferry ride to reach the island where it is located.”
“The park entrance is less than a mile away as the crow flies, but the tall fence forces us to walk all the way around the neighborhood.”
“Though the two cities were barely a hundred miles apart as the crow flies, the winding coastal route consumed the better part of a day.”
Derived from the observation that when a crow flies toward a food source, it maintains a direct path that ignores the inconveniences of terrestrial geography. While a human traveller is obliged to navigate around rivers and uneven terrain, the bird simply clears them. The idiom codifies this disregard for obstacles, noting the shorter distance of a straight line over the necessary detours of a ground-level route.
- 01
as the gull flies
In a straight line distance between two locations, as opposed to the road distance or over land distance.
- 02
catch flies
To have one's mouth wide open for a prolonged period.
- 03
drink with the flies
To drink alcohol while alone.
- 04
eat crow
To recognize that one has been shown to be mistaken or outdone, especially by admitting that one has made a humiliating error.
- 05
lord of the flies
a ruler over a worthless kingdom; leader of a meaningless microcosm.
- 06
no flies on
No mental weaknesses, character defects, or other significant flaws belonging to.
- 07
time flies
Time passes quickly.
Last updated August 10, 2026