🗓️ Idiom: Can’t See the Forest for the Trees (v)
💬 Meaning
- To focus too much on small details and miss the big picture.
- To be so involved in the little parts that you forget the overall goal.
🧠 Example Sentences
- He was so busy checking every line of code, he couldn’t see the forest for the trees.
- The team kept arguing about small tasks and forgot the main goal . They couldn’t see the forest for the trees.
- Sometimes we need to step back and look at the big picture, not just the details. Then we can see the forrest from the trees.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom comes from nature. If you’re looking closely at one tree, you might not notice the entire forest. In business, it means someone is focusing too much on small tasks and missing the overall purpose.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
He checked every small number in the report, but he __________ and missed the main mistake.
Answer
couldn’t see the forest for the trees
2. Choose the correct meaning of “can’t see the forest for the trees”:
A) To understand everything clearly
B) To focus too much on details and miss the big picture
C) To solve a problem quickly
D) To enjoy the outdoors
Answer
B) To focus too much on details and miss the big picture
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“She was so focused on one small task that she didn’t notice the bigger project problem.” → Change the sentence using: can’t see the forest for the trees
Answer
She couldn’t see the forest for the trees.
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