7 ms·
They are probably also measuring by bird distance...
by z3t4 6y ago
They are probably also measuring by bird distance...
- pmiller2 6y agoI don't mean to be "that guy" correcting someone's English, but you don't seem to be a native speaker, so I hope this will be well received. The actual phrase should be "as the crow flies." If you say "bird distance," you might get confused looks from people. Just trying to help. :-)
- kfrzcode 6y agoYou're right to gently correct here. That said, "bird distance" is going in my lexicon.
- ineedasername 6y agoI like "bird distance". I knew immediately what was meant, and it was more succinct than "as the crow flies"
- Cederfjard 6y agoIn Swedish we say ”the bird way”, as in ”it’s x km going the bird way”.
- leephillips 6y agoYeah, me too. I didn’t even look twice. And I’m not sure I agree with the advice to use a tired expression rather than something more original.
- blackboxlogic 6y agoBut how to know if the bird is flying or driving?
- ineedasername 6y agoOr if it gets lost along the way. And who says they actually fly in straight lines?
- hammock 6y agoOr swimming :)
- scubbo 6y agoAnd is it African or European?
- scoopertrooper 6y agoI agree, I move that we change the idiom and that pmiller2's remarks be stricken from the record.
- Kosirich 6y agoIn Croatian we use "air distance"... I'm going to be smug about it's more understandable than both (even though I like the Game Of Thrones association when ever I hear "as the crow flies")
- ColoradoDev 6y agoHonestly, I prefer "bird distance".
- SketchySeaBeast 6y agoI assume the exact details of "bird distance" is found within "bird law".
- staz 6y agomost likely from French "distance à vol d'oiseau" (or "distance d'oiseau" in short)
- jeromegv 6y agoI'm a french speaker so I also got the reference right away, didn't realize this was not as common in English
- awinder 6y agoI read this more as Charlie Day joining hn and I think I prefer it that way.
- FabHK 6y agoIn German, it's "Luftlinie", which literally means "air line" (while airline is "Fluglinie" ("flight line") or "Fluggesellschaft" ("flight company")).
- inopinatus 6y agoThe correct term for this measure of the geodesic is orthodromic distance and is guaranteed to get confused looks from people, which is often my intention. You may then proceed to explain this refers to the distance by camel.
- _jal 6y agoTelling people the shortest path is a great circle is also fun.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- dylan604 6y agoMe: 'The shortest distance is a straight line' You: Except on a globe, it is a great circle. Me: 'Nobody said on the surface. I'm tunneling through.'
- pmiller2 6y agoIt's more like that on the surface of a sphere, great circles are lines. That's how it's interpreted in spherical geometry.
- floatingatoll 6y agoI wish this entire thread of replies was an FP of its own. “Slang terms for linear distance through history” (arxiv.org) or something :)
- leephillips 6y agoNo, the correct term is “geodesic”.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- op00to 6y agoBird distance. Not just crows fly straight.
- dylan604 6y agoas long as it's not these birds. they'll never get there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4f_1_r80RY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4f_1_r80RY
- totallyAbird 6y agoDon't want to be that guy - then don't.
- est31 6y ago... and probably only from a specific point. You might be inside the place right at the kitchen's door and be further away in their system than if you stood outside somewhere close to the coordinates of the point.