miss the woods for the trees
Alternative form of cannot see the forest for the trees.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“You focus on small details and miss the woods for the trees.”
“The manager spent all day fixing minor typos and missed the woods for the trees regarding the project's main goal.”
“By obsessing over the individual components of the legal argument, the lawyer missed the woods for the trees and failed to address the core injustice of the case.”
- 01
babe in the woods
A person who is innocent, naive, inexperienced, or helpless, especially with respect to an unfamiliar situation or environment.
- 02
bark up the wrong tree
To take the wrong approach to a situation; to follow a false lead; to attempt to solve a problem using mistaken assumptions about its true nature.
- 03
charm the birds from the trees
To behave in a very charming manner.
- 04
Christmas tree bill
A bill consisting of many riders that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments, which may provide special benefits to various groups or interests.
- 05
dead tree edition
The physical, printed version of a publication.
- 06
do me good/s
[Cockney slang]wood/s
- 07
does the Pope shit in the woods
Obviously! Rhetorical question in response to a question where the answer is an emphatic yes.
- 08
fall out of the ugly tree and hit every branch
To become extremely unattractive.
Last updated August 10, 2026