scratch the surface
To barely begin; to see or do only a fraction of what is possible.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“This book only scratches the surface of the topic.”
“The documentary was interesting, but it barely scratched the surface of such a complex issue.”
“Though the lecture touched on decades of research, it could only scratch the surface of what scholars had uncovered about the lost civilization.”
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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 beneath the surface
To look or see beyond what is obvious.
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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.
Last updated August 10, 2026