As the crow flies

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A crow flying across the terrain Crow in flight.JPG
A crow flying across the terrain

The expression as the crow flies is an idiom for the most direct path between two points. [1] [2]

Contents

Etymology

The meaning of the expression is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist (1838): [1] [2]

"We cut over the fields at the back with him between us – straight as the crow flies – through hedge and ditch." [1]

While crows do conspicuously fly alone across open country, they do not fly in especially straight lines. [3] While crows do not swoop in the air like swallows or starlings, they often circle above their nests. [3]

One suggested origin of the term is that before modern navigational methods were introduced, cages of crows were kept upon ships and a bird would be released from the crow's nest when required to assist navigation, in the hope that it would fly directly towards land. [1] However, the earliest recorded uses of the term are not nautical in nature, and the crow's nest of a ship is thought to derive from its shape and position rather than its use as a platform for releasing crows. [1] It has also been suggested that crows would not travel well in cages, as they fight if confined. [4]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Allen, Robert (2008). Allen's Dictionary of English Phrases. Penguin UK. ISBN   9780141917689.
  2. 1 2 Knowles, Elizabeth (2006). The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press, UK. ISBN   9780191578564.
  3. 1 2 Villazon, Luis (2017-08-30). "Do crows actually fly in a straight line?". BBC Focus .
  4. Quinion, Michael; Spear, Lynne (2011-06-04). "World Wide Words: As the crow flies". World Wide Words.

Bibliography