from a mile away
6
3.6
- idiom
- Informal
:
a leguas
- I could hear you from a mile away!
- smell it from a mile away
- spot a phony from a mile away
- see it from a mile away
I don't buy anyone saying I'll be able to see that from a mile away.
- I don't buy anyone saying I'll be able to see that from a mile away.
- There's a situation that me, my mom and my dad I saw was coming from a mile away.
Examples
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I can tell bad effects work from a mile away.
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You see the endings coming from a mile away.
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I could smell you coming from a mile away.
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You can see it from a mile away.
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I saw this coming from a mile away.
Blog text (24) -
I can spot one from a mile away.
Blog text (26) -
You could hear him screaming from a mile away.
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You could smell the booze from a mile away.
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I could see you from a mile away, slick.
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You can see the new building they are constructing from a mile away.
Synonyms
79
2.8
At a distance of one mile or very easy to notice
Antonyms
How Far
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'from' (origin), 'a mile' (a long distance) and 'away' (at a distance), so its sense of being noticeable from far off or easily detected is directly inferable from the constituents. This spatial-to-evidential extension is a common, cross-linguistic pattern, so an average B1 learner who knows the words will understand the meaning.
Etymology
From a mile away creates a clear picture: imagine seeing a person or a sign from very far away, so it stands out without you having to look closely. That's why people use from a mile away to say something is 'easy to see' or 'easy to notice'.