Does this mean something or is it just a weird way to measure distance?

I'll add that it's not always used to talk about a literal rock-throwing distance. You could say that the next town over is a stone's throw away.

They will use anything to avoid metric system.

It’s a set phrase, someone is close enough that you could theoretically hit them by chucking a stone.

It's a phrase that means a short distance away. You don't see people measuring distance via stone throwing elsewhere. Would be pretty inconsistent since everyone has a different throwing distance.

It's a fixed phrase that means a short distance. Figuratively, you could throw a stone from one place to the other. Exactly what distances can be described as "just a stone's throw away" is contextual.

It’s not weird. Throughout human history the length of a stone’s throw has often been very important. The ability to accurately throw stones is one of our greatest and most unique strengths. 

English is full of weird measures. A handful A stones throw away Just round the corner He was going like the clappers

Interestingly, the original Russian expression in Dostoevsky's text is "nearly two steps away from the Bolshoi prospect".

"a stone's throw" is a colloquialism, a set phrase that just means "a bit, but not very far, e.g., about as far as you could throw a rock," though in reality it can mean any distance that's relatively short. See also: spitting distance

It’s a known phrase that means “a short distance.” It refers to the distance you can throw a stone; but it is not meant to be taken literally (since people of different strength or skill might be able to throw stones to different distances). It’s just generally meant as “relatively close”.

It's a saying. It's a phrase. It's a common term. It's also just a weird way to measure distance. How far can you throw a small stone? That's how far.

It's a colloquial term, meaning a short distance away. It isn't meant to measure a specific distance. It simply means it is close by.

[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stone%27s%20throw](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stone%27s%20throw)

It’s shorter than a hop, skip, and a jump.

It's a common set expression. You wouldn't describe a distance as a ball's throw away, or a stone's kick away, etc. "A stone's throw" is a specific phrase, meaning a short distance.

This creative work is making the reader visualize a distance while also showing many other things. We know it’s short distance away because it’s “just” a stones throw away. This also implies the character is tired because you don’t throw a stone very far when you are tired, but you can when you are trying to throw a stone. So it’s like “ugh I just got in bed now there’s this thing going on 😐” a stone throw is also a highly energetic way to measure distance so it also kind of gets the reader re engaged and tells us that something is about to happen. 😁

It's an expression meaning a short distance.