Can't see the forest for the trees

This phrase shows up, in print, in the book authored by John Heywood. The proverb reads, "Plentie is nodeintie, ye see not your owne ease. I see, ye can not see the wood for trees." The grammatical structure of the phrase is a bit off-putting in today's language but back in Heywood's day the word "for" was used as the words "because of". Tweaking it to today's grammar it would read, "Can't see the forest because of the trees." (source)

I confess, this phrase has always made me scratch my head. I think I was getting hung up on the word "for" and now that I know a bit more about the etymological information it makes a little more sense. But I still don't like it, I'm not keen on it. Maybe it's just because it is nature based and I'm an indoors girl. *wink* Another way to think about the phrase is, "to be overwhelmed by detail to the point where it obscures the overall situation." And then I am struck by the irony, I've allowed the details of this actual phrase to obscure the overall phrase. HA!

Comments

The End of Affirmation 365

I've been thinking about it for over a month. Usually, when I'm in it I'm engaged. But this time? I started it indifferent and I've felt indifferent all along. I should have never started. Hindsight is 20/20 they say and they aren't wrong. So when I opened my eyes this morning it was clear. It's time. Time to quit this 365. This is the first 365 that I haven't posted several of the days, the first 365 that I wasn't super excited about, the first 365 that I've quit. I've changed my social media presence and interactions the past year so this is also the first 365 that hardly anyone has been interested in. Is it the topic or my decision to not be as accessible on social media? Or is it some other reason altogether? Well, regardless...I'm throwing in the towel on this one. I can't say if I'll ever do another 365 again. Time will tell and I will know if and when it's time.

Affirmation Day 273

Don’t quit - replace: The key to changing your habits for good Change Any Habit Painlessly How to Change Unhealthy Habits

Call it a Day

The literal use of this phrase hails from 1838 when the phrase originally was "call it half a day" to mean leaving work early. (source) The modern use of the phrase is to indicate ending something due to false sense of accomplishment.

Search This Blog