Seeing The Wood For The Trees

If someone can't see the wood for the trees in British English, or can't see the forest for the trees in American English, they are very involved in the details of something and so they do not notice what is important about the thing as a whole.

1. What does it mean to see the wood for the trees?
2. How do you use see the wood for the trees in a sentence?
3. What is the saying can see the forest for the trees?
4. Where does the phrase can t see the wood for the trees come from?

What does it mean to see the wood for the trees?

: to not understand or appreciate a larger situation, problem, etc., because one is considering only a few parts of it.

How do you use see the wood for the trees in a sentence?

For example

I don't think we can see the wood for the trees at this stage, so let's get an outsider to take a look at the project and give us a progress report. Marcus is so focused on product details that he can't see the wood for the trees when it comes to the overall needs of the company.

What is the saying can see the forest for the trees?

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.”

Where does the phrase can t see the wood for the trees come from?

The origin is actually from a place called Bath, in England. It refers to a concourse of houses that were designed by the architect John Wood. There was a tree planted directly in front of these houses, and it grew quite large. So people began to exclaim: "You can't see the Wood for the tree!"