Expressions you don't get

The King of Moo wrote: »

When we travel, we take roads and other types of paths which have to fit around natural and artificial obstacles.

If a crow were travelling from the same point to the same destination, however, it would avoid those obstacles entirely and it would probably fly there directly in a fairly straight line.

So the expression simply means there are no turns or sizeable curves on the route. It's pretty straight.

I have to admit, that might have been the best response I've read on Boards.

dodderangler wrote: »

But why a crow
Why not sparrow or hawk or pink dragon
But I see what ya mean
What bout this one
If someone is suspicious your up to somethin and ya mate says here that chap is dog wide to u

I think a crow is used simply because it's such a common bird in Britain. I can't help you with the origin of the other two phrases (no help on Google and I've never even heard of "to be dog wide to..."). The difficulty with English idioms is that their origins can become obscured, their origins are complex, often based on specific situations, words from other languages, or bizarre amalgamations of various factors, or else phrases which originally made sense see their form shift gradually until they're phrases with little relation to their original forms.

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

I have to admit, that might have been the best response I've read on Boards.

It's my day job, nothing special .

mikemac1 wrote: »

Was chatting to a group of girls in the pub and they invited me back to their house party

In like Flynn :cool:

I like the saying but no idea how it ever started.
Just bizarre

I heard (haven't confirmed with Google though) it's a reference to Errol Flynn and his lothario ways. Any young female co-star he'd come across, he'd put the moves on and "be in there" in a shot. And was generally successful, apart from with, famously, Olivia de Havilland.

So if you jump into something eagerly, you're "in like Flynn."

"You can't have your cake and eat it". What fúcking good is having a cake if I can't eat it? What else should I do with it, cut holes in it and wear it like shoes?

Bassfish wrote: »

'He has a chip on his shoulder' what the hell does that even mean?

Back in the day the sailors were allowed two blocks of wood from the ship for use in their own fires.

Eventuallyit was reduces to one chip which they carried down the gangplank on one shoulder. They weren't happy about only being allowed one chip, that's where the phrase comes from.