C1idiomnatureIELTS-friendly
can't see the wood for the trees
USUK
to be so focused on small details that you miss the bigger picture
British; American English says 'can't see the forest for the trees'. The same image as Vietnamese 'thấy cây mà không thấy rừng'.
In context
Students who memorise every grammar rule often can't see the wood for the trees.
After months of small fixes, the team simply can't see the wood for the trees.
More idioms about nature
- a breath of fresh airsomeone or something new and different that makes a situation more pleasant
- a storm in a teacupa lot of anger or worry about something that is not important
- come rain or shinewhatever the weather or situation; always, without exception
- let sleeping dogs lieto avoid raising an old problem because discussing it would only cause new trouble
- nip something in the budto stop a problem early, before it can grow into something worse