miss the forest for the trees
Overlook the whole
To miss the forest for the trees is to focus so intently on details that you fail to perceive the larger picture or overall situation.
Someone proofreading a report might catch every typo but miss that the entire argument is flawed: You're missing the forest for the trees.
The metaphor imagines examining individual trees so closely that you don't notice you're standing in a forest.
- big pictureOverall perspective on things
- holistic viewComprehensive overall perspective
- broad strokesMain features only
- overlookMiss or commanding view
- overviewBroad general summary
oversight · ignore · perspective · losing sight of · neglect · inattention · bypass · systems thinking · gist · synopsis · tunnel vision · penny wise, pound foolish · framing effect · barking up the wrong tree · interconnectedness · context · splitting hairs · devil in the details
miss the forest for the treessee the forest for the trees
Recognize whole despite details
zoom out · see the whole picture · take a step back · step back · helicopter view
miss the forest for the treeskeep one's eye on the ball
Remain attentive to priorities
miss the forest for the treescut to the chase
Skip to essentials
see the whole picture · separate the wheat from the chaff · think big
misses, missed, forest, forests, forested, forestry, forestation, deforest, deforestation