scratch the surface
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I believe I have yet to scratch the surface of the player I could be,” he wrote, “but if it’s at the expense of my peace of mind then it’s no longer for me.”
From Los Angeles Times
Dr. Starr, an associate professor of ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medicine, said that one thing some patients do wrong is press the bottle tip into the inner corner of the eye, which can contaminate the drops and scratch the surface of the eye.
From New York Times
These bigger releases only scratch the surface of the Salvadoran Renaissance, which spans not only experiences but regions, including El Salvador itself.
From Los Angeles Times
And while Conservative backbenchers are not publicly indulging in the kind of permanent uproar they have done in recent times, scratch the surface and there is still disquiet.
From BBC
“The Apartment” is a comedy, though it is also, once you scratch the surface, a drama, as any such frank and searching commentary on the morals, or lack of them, in our time would almost have to be.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
