scratch the surface

Idioms and Phrases

Investigate or treat something superficially, as in This feed-the-hungry program only scratches the surface of the problem , or Her survey course barely scratches the surface of economic history . This metaphoric term transfers shallow markings made in a stone or other material to a shallow treatment of a subject or issue. [Early 1900s]

Related Words

• gather
• interpret
• know
• learn
• refer to
• scan
• see
• study
• translate
• view