answers.input_text: short
answers.span_text: Charles Dickens 's novel Oliver Twist
questions: where does the expression as the crow flies come from
name: As the crow flies
contexts: As the crow flies , similar to in a beeline , is an idiom for the most direct path between two points . This meaning is attested from the early 19th century , and appeared in Charles Dickens 's novel Oliver Twist :