2 units (in this case houses) down and 2 across (a perhaps intentional misinterpretation of the original slightly ambiguous statement). Reasonable to assume down and across are perpendicular directions. Let’s pretend space-time is Euclidean. How far away is the listener from the sneeze? Pythagoras, our faithful companion, guides our understanding…√(2²+2²)=√8=2√2

The local pharmacist in my parent’s village died from accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms ☹️