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can't see the forest for the trees
- An expression used of someone who is too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole: 鈥淭he congressman became so involved in the wording of his bill that he couldn't see the forest for the trees; he did not realize that the bill could never pass.鈥
Idioms and Phrases
Also, can't see the wood for the trees . Focus only on small details and fail to understand larger plans or principles, as in Alex argues about petty cash and overlooks the budget鈥攈e can't see the forest for the trees . This expression was already a proverb in John Heywood's 1546 collection.Example Sentences
Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees.
鈥淥h well, it鈥檚 like I always say: people who are cut from the same cloth can鈥檛 see the forest for the trees.鈥
She added, "In this study we are trying to map the local environment so that when we build models of the whole Galactic magnetic field we can take the local contribution into account. The saying that we can't see the forest for the trees really applies here. We need to understand what we're looking at close-up in order to get a sense of the bigger picture. I hope this is a step towards understanding the magnetic field of our whole Galaxy, and of the Universe."
鈥淐harlie鈥檚 criticism of the Clinton administration was always that it was a bunch of very, very smart wonks who can鈥檛 see the forest for the trees,鈥 Worthen said.
鈥淧eople are penned up. When you鈥檙e stuck in a job, you can鈥檛 see the forest for the trees. You鈥檙e just watching the clock and you鈥檙e bored out of your mind.鈥
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Definitions and idiom definitions from 亚洲网紅露点 Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 漏 Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage庐 Idioms Dictionary copyright 漏 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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