Phrase for focusing on unimportant details

Question

I'm looking for an idiom or saying that I could use when people are focusing too much on small details and not seeing the big picture.

A couple that come to mind are "being penny-wise and pound foolish" and "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic". However, the former doesn't fit what I'm thinking of because the present activity might not be wise. The latter implies too much about impending doom.

For example, let's say some company is spending all their time refining a small detail in their product, while ignoring a major opportunity shift in the industry. What phrase could I use there?

Possible duplicate: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/41508/idiom-people-caring-about-minor-stuff-while-something-terrible-is-happening — Hugo, Sep 25 '11 at 19:16
Related: Phrase or idiom for funnelling efforts in wrong direction — aedia λ, Sep 26 '11 at 23:02
thanks @aediaλ that link was excellent, as well as the links within that page — mark, Sep 28 '11 at 23:33

score 21 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 25 '11 at 19:36

21

cannot see the forest for the trees

fail to grasp the main issue because of overattention to details.

^NOAD

answered Sep 25 '11 at 19:36

Callithumpian

24,764

1

often used in philosophy as example for category mistake (fallacy) – Hauser Sep 26 '11 at 01:01
Also, 'can't see the wood for the trees'. – haha Jan 08 '16 at 22:12

score 10 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 25 '11 at 20:12

10

One word I've seen used is nitpicking.

answered Sep 25 '11 at 20:12

Tom Au

11,056

score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 30 '12 at 21:17

8

Expending disproportionate effort on trivial matters is sometimes known as bikeshedding, or Parkinson’s Law of Triviality.

Jeff blogged about the phenomenon in the context of it being a problem on Stack Overflow...

answered Jun 30 '12 at 21:17

Brian Nixon

3,281

This captures exactly what I was referring to, thanks! – mark Jul 11 '12 at 18:39

JeffSahol · Answer 4 · 2011-09-26T01:48:11.913

6

Majoring on the minors

carries the idea of the effort going to waste, without the implication that there is a problem with perception. Also, my personal favorite,

chasing rabbits

means going off on tangents, but is less formal and not as well-defined...someone might consider it a Jefferson Airplane reference :).

edited Sep 26 '11 at 01:48

answered Sep 25 '11 at 21:45

JeffSahol

18,696

4

Some might consider chasing rabbits an Alice In Wonderland reference. – Unsliced Sep 26 '11 at 06:11
1

Thanks @Unsliced, I cannot believe I didn't realize that. That is where JA got it, too...the link is to lyrics for "Go Ask Alice". I had thought it came from observation of how silly dogs look when they chase rabbits. – JeffSahol Sep 26 '11 at 10:52

score 5 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 25 '11 at 19:19

5

Some suggestions:

Can't see the wood for the trees
Has their priorities wrong
Focusing on the trivial
Wasting time on the trivial

answered Sep 25 '11 at 19:19

Hugo

67,535

score 5 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 26 '11 at 01:18

5

Does "penny wise but pound foolish" fit?

answered Sep 26 '11 at 01:18

Chris A. Waters

59

score 3 · Answer 7 · answered Sep 25 '11 at 21:49

3

Picking up pennies in front of a steamroller.

answered Sep 25 '11 at 21:49

D Krueger

5,164

score 3 · Answer 8 · answered Sep 26 '11 at 09:15

3

If I rightly recall, Laurence Peter called it "side issue specialism" in The Peter Principle (here)

Look after the molehills and the mountains will take care of themselves.

answered Sep 26 '11 at 09:15

Brian Hooper

36,868

score 2 · Answer 9 · answered Mar 06 '13 at 23:24

2

pedant. For example, some pedant decided that I have to use at least 30 characters to have this answer accepted.

answered Mar 06 '13 at 23:24

Jonno

21

5

Pedants don't focus on unimportant details. Pedants think the details are important. Perhaps that demonstrates your point. – Andrew Leach Mar 06 '13 at 23:26

score 2 · Answer 10 · edited Jan 24 '12 at 23:54

2

Strain a gnat and swallow a camel. Getting so focused on tiny details that you end up making a huge mistake in the big scheme of things. New Testament idiom spoken by Jesus in Matthew, chapter 23, verse 24.

edited Jan 24 '12 at 23:54

MetaEd

28,488

answered Oct 12 '11 at 19:56

Bebe

21

score 1 · Answer 11 · answered Feb 04 '14 at 12:09

1

When concentrating too much on refining a product, as in your example, then:

Gilding the lily

is commonly used.

answered Feb 04 '14 at 12:09

Chenmunka

13,046

commonly seems like quite the stretch based on this ngram: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Gilding+the+lily%2Cnitpick%2Cpound-wise%2C+penny-foolish&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CGilding%20the%20lily%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cnitpick%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cpound%20-%20wise%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cpenny%20-%20foolish%3B%2Cc0 – virmaior Feb 04 '14 at 13:03

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Sep 25 '11 at 21:04

1

I think ' Missing the plot ' would be appropriate.

answered Sep 25 '11 at 21:04

nicholas ainsworth

8,708

score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Feb 04 '14 at 12:32

0

go off on a tangent

to pursue a somewhat related or irrelevant course while neglecting the main subject. Source- http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/go+off+on+a+tangent

answered Feb 04 '14 at 12:32

Sandeep D

325

Hauser · Answer 14 · 2011-09-26T01:10:37.200

0

bean counter (as a idiom, also used in German)
not having a holistic view (next to your missing the big picture which is imho the best)

edited Sep 26 '11 at 01:10

answered Sep 26 '11 at 00:57

Hauser

1,537

user3810626 · Answer 15 · 2019-02-22T19:23:06.503

0

How about using bagatelle? From Google dictionary:

a thing of little importance; a very easy task. "dealing with these boats was a mere bagatelle for the world's oldest yacht club"

etymology: mid 17th century (in bagatelle (sense 2)): from French, from Italian bagatella, perhaps from baga ‘baggage’ or from a diminutive of Latin baca ‘berry’. bagatelle (sense 1) dates from the early 19th century.

If you're focused on bagatelles, you're avoiding the big picture, the hard stuff, etc.

edited Feb 22 '19 at 19:23

answered Feb 21 '19 at 17:00

user3810626

400

When you use a quote from someone else, you MUST cite where you found it and use quote formatting to indicate it's a direct quote. – Laurel Feb 21 '19 at 18:25

Phrase for focusing on unimportant details

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