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View Full Version : "Can't see the forest FOR the trees?"

MikeVic
02-28-2005, 06:47 PM
I was just watching Wheel of Fortune, and the guy guessed for the puzzle answer "Can't see the forest from the trees." Let's ignore the fact that this guy just had a brain fart since there are a different number of letters in "for" and "from."

When I saw the puzzle, I also thought it was "Can't see the forest from the trees," since that's the first thing that popped into my head. Which is the right saying? An example of my interpretation is that you let a stereotype of a person determine what you think of the entire race.

Which is the right saying?
JonInMiddleGA
02-28-2005, 06:50 PM
I've never heard it as anything other than "for" the trees.
mckerney
02-28-2005, 06:58 PM
I've heard 'for' and 'through'
McSweeny
02-28-2005, 07:01 PM
i've heard for and for only
Ksyrup
02-28-2005, 07:03 PM
He said 'through,' not 'for.' Which wouldn't be so bad, if the board didn't look like, CAN'T SEE THE _ _REST _ _R THE TREES.

The guy blew $18K+ on that screw-up. Moron.

Of course, thanks to the intellectual exercise that is Wheel of Fortune, he still ended up winning $25K. Only on that show would a mistake like that not only not cost you the game, but it wouldn't prevent you from taking home a boatload of cash.
stkelly52
03-01-2005, 12:38 AM
Some understanding of the phrase:

the word for has many different meanings. if you go to http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=for and look at definition #7 you will find the one that fits this statement "As a result of; because of:"

What the phase is refering to is that if you are six inches away from a tree, all you can see is the tree, and you miss the whole forest that is around it. Sometimes you need to take a step back and look at the whole picture of what is around you.
Desnudo
03-01-2005, 01:13 AM
i've heard for and for only

It's definitely "for." Otherwise the saying doesn't make sense.
Ksyrup
03-01-2005, 06:37 AM
Some understanding of the phrase:

the word for has many different meanings. if you go to http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=for and look at definition #7 you will find the one that fits this statement "As a result of; because of:"

What the phase is refering to is that if you are six inches away from a tree, all you can see is the tree, and you miss the whole forest that is around it. Sometimes you need to take a step back and look at the whole picture of what is around you.

Some understanding of the puzzle


_ _ R

Really, that's all you need to know.