as the crow flies

1. The most direct route between two places: “From here to Gold Bar, it's only ten miles as the crow flies, but twenty miles by the winding mountain road.”

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

No, not a stone’s throw but as the crow flies.

From Los Angeles Times

Paradise is only about 13 miles southeast of Cohasset, as the crow flies.

From Los Angeles Times

As the crow flies, Damascus is less than 50 miles from here.

From BBC

"We said that a gold mine in Erzincan, which is on an active fault line and 300m away from the Euphrates River as the crow flies, is very dangerous," Mr Torun said.

From BBC

County, the San Gabriel Mountains, rise more than 10,000 feet above sea level, yet a drop of rain falling there has to travel only about 40 miles, as the crow flies, to return to the ocean — meaning there can be precious little time to drain significant water back out to sea.

From Los Angeles Times