see the forest for the trees

Definition

To discern an overall pattern from a mass of detail; to see the big picture, or the broader, more general situation.

Etymology

John Heywood documented the English use of the proverb in 1546.

Example Sentences

• "Smith is good at detail, but can't see the forest for the trees."
• "It is, indeed, the principal drawback to the study of London that she is too vast—that the student is ever in danger of "not seeing the forest for the trees.""
• "On the other hand, I have purposely treated the empirical physical foundations of the theory in a "step-motherly" fashion, so that readers unfamiliar with physics may not feel like the wanderer who was unable to see the forest for the trees."

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