country mile

English

Etymology

country+‎mile.So named due to the winding, twisting nature of country roads, a country mile appears to take much longer to travel than a mile in the city, where the roads are straighter. First use appears c. 1717, in the publications of M. Dutton.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/ˌkʌntɹi ˈmaɪl/

• Audio(General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

countrymile(pluralcountry miles)

1. (informal,idiomatic)A long way, a greatdistance.

   by acountry mile

   • 2000,Steve Holt,A Day at the Ballpark,Xlibris, page13:

     I liked to imagine that my father had been a pretty fair country ballplayer who didn't pay attention to his batting average but could hit the ball acountry mileand run like the wind.

   • 2023April 5, Pip Dunn, “'196s' giving commuters a smoother ride”, inRAIL,number980,page57:

     But the passengers we spoke to seemed very happy with the trains - and yes, they are an improvement on the Class 170 by acountry mile.