meaning of 四里四方{しりしほう}


I found the set phrase "四里四方{しりしほう}" used on several sites (e.g.
[here](https://foursquare.com/v/%E5%9B%9B%E9%87%8C%E5%9B%9B%E6%96%B9/4c458668f0bdd13a8101cbcc)
with a pun) but I can't find it in [wwwjdic](http://nihongo.monash.edu/cgi-
bin/wwwjdic). Is it somehow a superlative of 四方{しほう}, something like "(from)
all over (the world) ?"




As I answered in other user’s question ([What is the meaning of
幾里?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/32572/5010) in 幾里の路を共に往かむ), 里 is a
unit of distance, and 1里 is equal to 4 kilometers (2.5 miles).

四方 means four directions of north, south, east and west. So 四里四方 literally
means 16 square kilometer (10 square miles).

Actually 四里四方 means “a wide area.” Though old way of saying, when someone says
四里四方に近寄るな to his prodigal son, it means “Don’t linger around my neighborhood.”
“昔、この辺り四里四方は私の家の土地でした” means “the vast area around here used to be owned by my
family longtime ago.”

By the same token, we have a phrase, 五里霧中（ごりむちゅう）, of which literal
translation is “amidst of deep fog spreading five lis.” It means you are
“groping around unclear terrain without any bright prospect” just like thrown
into a boundless thick fog.




As I answered in other user’s question ([What is the meaning of
幾里?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/32572/5010) in 幾里の路を共に往かむ), 里 is a
unit of distance, and 1里 is equal to 4 kilometers (2.5 miles).

四方 means four directions of north, south, east and west. So 四里四方 literally
means 16 square kilometer (10 square miles).

Actually 四里四方 means “a wide area.” Though old way of saying, when someone says
四里四方に近寄るな to his prodigal son, it means “Don’t linger around my neighborhood.”
“昔、この辺り四里四方は私の家の土地でした” means “the vast area around here used to be owned by my
family longtime ago.”

By the same token, we have a phrase, 五里霧中（ごりむちゅう）, of which literal
translation is “amidst of deep fog spreading five lis.” It means you are
“groping around unclear terrain without any bright prospect” just like thrown
into a boundless thick fog.

