2007-10-14 09:52:29 · 9 answers · asked by Jon D 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
probably from a nickname for one of the first public transportation airplanes
2007-10-14 09:55:19 · answer #1 · answered by m m 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Assuming you're talking about the distance between two points.
The term comes from the fact that the distance from one place in the world to another can either be done by travel distance, which may become longer because of geographical features, like mountains and bodies of water, or by shortest distance between two points, which is a straight line. Birds, such as crows, aren't limited by geography. Thus, to speak of the shortest distance between to places, you're talking about a straight line, or the path a bird might follow. "As the crow flies."
The source of the actual term comes from medieval British maritime traditions. Coastal sailing vessels typically carried a cage of crows. Crows hate large bodies of water. So, when they're released, they head straight for the closest land mass. The fastest way to land for that ship would be along the crows' flight path, or "as the crow flies." This is also why the lookout posts on such ships were called "the crow's nest."
PS: Sal*UK, if you're going to cut and paste from another website without even doing any actual work, at least give them credit. That version of the answer can be found here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/trivia
2007-10-14 09:59:46 · answer #2 · answered by r3dsh1ft 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As The Crow Flies - British coastal vessels customarily carried a cage of crows. Crows detest large expanses of water and head, as straight as a crow flies, towards the nearest land if released at sea - very useful if you were unsure of the nearest land when sailing in foggy waters before the days of radar. The lookout perch on sailing vessels thus became known as the crow's nest.
2007-10-14 09:56:31 · answer #3 · answered by Sal*UK 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
From the book. A Journey Through The Unseen by Arthur Stoat.
Who had the misfortune of becoming attatched to the rear end of the said crow.
2007-10-14 09:57:53 · answer #4 · answered by angler 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
as the crow flies means --- the exact distances-- from one point to another, the shortest way.
2007-10-14 11:24:47 · answer #5 · answered by y&r phillis ever married to vict 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Crows fly in a straight line. It's not that cryptic :-)
2007-10-14 09:55:28 · answer #6 · answered by ? 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is from the Iroqua refering to the terrain between locations
2007-10-14 10:05:25 · answer #7 · answered by boworl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a crow lol, think its a farmer expression, farmers talk like that and think like that...!!!
2007-10-14 09:55:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
shakespeare? im guessing, but it sound familiar
2007-10-14 09:55:18 · answer #9 · answered by Abira 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋