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I don't think we should use "as the crow flies" on this page -- is it an expression that all speakers of English will understand? --
Tarquin
I think it's a well-known idiom, and not just in English, though it may not be a crow in other languages (e.g. "à vol d'oiseau"). But what crow - or any other bird for that matter - flies from Dublin to San Francisco? -
phma
A better term might be the
Great circle distance or route, as the shortest distance between two points over the surface of a sphere (or the earth) is the arc of the largest (greatest sized) circle drawn around the sphere that passes through both points. The shortest distance is a line segment that passes through both points but this passes through the earth so cannot be travelled (easily). -
kiwiinapanic 10:02 Feb 18, 2003 (UTC)
I think that "as the crow flies" is the best term for the distance between two places. It also has the advantage of being the most used term. Great Circle is not commonly used, in fact I have not heard of it before. Goatface.