scratch the surface

Frequency: 8.015.0 per million words

Often used figuratively to mean dealing with only a small part of a subject or problem.

surfaceVERB + surface

Categories:

scratch

Examples (10)

  • The documentary only scratched the surface of the complex issue.
  • His research managed to scratch the surface of the historical event.
  • We've only begun to scratch the surface of what's possible with AI.
  • The initial report only scratched the surface of the corruption.
  • Don't worry, we're just going to scratch the surface of the topic today.
  • The article scratched the surface of the problem, offering little in-depth analysis.
  • With so much to cover, we can only scratch the surface in this lecture.
  • His apology barely scratched the surface of the damage he caused.
  • The detective knew he had to dig deeper than just scratching the surface.
  • This brief overview will only scratch the surface of the vast field of quantum physics.