Please explain this to me as I've tried for years to figure it out: You cant see the forrest for the trees.... Please only serious answers!
It's a common saying that I've heard for a long time and cant figure it out... I've asked many people and no one can give me the answer, my husband and I are intrigued! PLEASE HELP US!
2007-01-14 00:23:29 · 16 answers · asked by Jenny C 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
That you cannot look at the bigger picture.
An expression used of someone who is too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole: “The 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.”
2007-01-14 00:25:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
This saying means that one cannot see the BIG picture, as in the forest, because the little things get in the way, the trees. It is a matter of missing the whole because you are concentrating on the part.. Another way of saying it is that one is missing the main point and looking only at one aspect of it.
2007-01-14 00:29:17 · answer #2 · answered by fangtaiyang 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can't see the big picture.
Some people looking at a forest or standing in a forest only see the individual trees and not the whole group.
Don't get stuck on the details.
The phrase can be applied to many different things.
2007-01-14 00:26:51 · answer #3 · answered by Tellin' U Da Truth! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've always taken the expression to mean this: People who are searching for something, the "forest" in this case totally miss seeing it because they only see the "trees", which of course, IS the forest. To equate it in real terms, a common thing people search for is happiness...they are too concerned in finding it that they totally miss that they have already found it, or it is right under their nose.
2007-01-14 01:48:03 · answer #4 · answered by єЖтяα ¢яιѕρψ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a very true concept.
If you are too close to a tree you cannot see the grandeur of the whole forrest.
What it is saying is that we get stuck on details and miss the grand picture of what we're dealing with.
2007-01-14 10:19:39 · answer #5 · answered by concernedjean 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The forest is the big picture of something, but the trees are the details and you are so wrapped up in the details you can not see the whole problem.
2007-01-14 00:30:29 · answer #6 · answered by Aliz 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's a Joke in my country
Forrest means somewhere full of trees, so trees are part of forest, it's more like saying, this singer doesn't allow me to hear the song' for example.
so how can you be in forest & don't see the forest because of trees?
2007-01-14 00:30:37 · answer #7 · answered by Linkin lady 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think that maybe it means something like you can only see what is right in front of you. its hard to see through what is in front of something. i feel like its one of those terms used to describe a persons feelings about something. ive never heard this before. but i do know that when something doesnt make sense on the outside you have to look for the deeper meaning and sometimes even beyond the words that are written. i hope ive been helpful in some way
2007-01-14 00:28:58 · answer #8 · answered by .......... 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What this means is that someone is focusing too much on the smaller details and missing out on the bigger picture.
2007-01-14 00:32:20 · answer #9 · answered by Chris 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
HIYA
its a case of not seeing what the actual truth is even though its staring you in the face
that is where the term comes from
2007-01-14 00:27:00 · answer #10 · answered by scotgirl55 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋