Английская Википедия:As the crow flies

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Файл: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]

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]

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Crows do conspicuously fly alone across open country, but crows do not fly in particularly 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

References

Шаблон:Reflist

Bibliography

External links

Шаблон:Wiktionary

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  1. 1,0 1,1 1,2 1,3 Ошибка цитирования Неверный тег <ref>; для сносок Allen не указан текст
  2. 2,0 2,1 Ошибка цитирования Неверный тег <ref>; для сносок Knowles не указан текст
  3. 3,0 3,1 Шаблон:Cite web
  4. Шаблон:Cite web