You need to scratch beneath the surface to understand the real problem.
scratch beneath the surface
idiomTo look or see beyond what is obvious.
The town looks perfect, but if you scratch beneath the surface, you will find many hidden social issues.
While the candidate’s initial speech was polished and charming, voters who scratched beneath the surface discovered a lack of concrete policy proposals.
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chicken scratch
Cramped or illegible handwriting.
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scratch an itch
To satisfy a need or desire.
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scratch by
To get by; to make ends meet.
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scratch one's head
To puzzle, ponder, or wonder about something.
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scratch one's own itch
To do something out of motivation to solve a personal problem; to take matters into one's own hands.
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scratch that
To disregard, omit, or ignore the previous statement.
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scratch the itch
Alternative form of scratch an itch.
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scratch the surface
To barely begin; to see or do only a fraction of what is possible.