(idiomatic) To discern an overall pattern from a mass of detail; to see the big picture, or the broader, more general situation. (idiomatic, in the negative, by extension) To be overwhelmed by detail to the point where it obscures the overall situation. Smith is good at detail, but can't see the forest for the trees.
Why do we say can't see the forest for the trees?
You-can't-see-the-forest-for-the-trees means that we sometimes cannot see situations as they really are while we are in the midst of them. In short, we lose our perspective when we are too heavily invested in a particular situation, approach, organization, etc.Jun 16, 2020
Where does the saying forest 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!"
Who coined the phrase can't see the forest for the trees?
It appears in a Renaissance proverb collection written by John Heywood, published in London in 1546.