What do People Mean When They Say Someone Can See the Forest for the Trees?
The saying that someone “can’t see the forest for the trees” is a reference to people who get so involved with the details of an issue that they lose sight of the larger issue. You may also hear it rendered as “so-and-so can’t see the wood for the trees,” depending on regional dialects and personal preference. If you are accused of being unable to see the forest for the trees, you may want to take a step back from the situation to abstract yourself in the hopes that some clarifying and potentially interesting information emerges.
