Crossword Genius

Witches for Salem endlessly travelling by direct route (2,3,4,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

as the crow flies

'by direct route' is the definition.
(as the crow flies means in a straight line)

'witches for salem endlessly travelling' is the wordplay.
'endlessly' means to remove the last letter.
'travelling' is an anagram indicator.
'witches'+'for'+'salem'='witchesforsalem'
'witchesforsalem' with its last letter removed is 'witchesforsale'.
'witchesforsale' with letters rearranged gives 'AS THE CROW FLIES'.

(Other definitions for as the crow flies that I've seen before include "without deviating" , "How rook moves" , "move in a straight line" , "By direct route" , "Directly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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