Depth & Surface: English Vocabulary List

a report of something with complete or exact details

"He could quote the rules chapter and verse."

"She explained the historical event chapter and verse for the class."

full and exact information about something

"Let's look at the facts and figures."

"We need all the facts and figures before making a decision."

used for saying that a person or thing has more of a specific quality than it seems

"There is more than meets the eye here."

"This quiet town has more than meets the eye; it's full of hidden history."

a person or thing that looks nice or pleasant but turns out to be very unpleasant or troublesome

"He is a nightmare dressed like a daydream."

"That job offer seemed perfect, but it turned out to be a nightmare dressed like a daydream."

a facial expression that does not reveal a person's feelings or thoughts

"He kept his poker face."

"He kept a perfect poker face even though he held the winning hand in the tournament."

used to state that something appears to be true or appealing at first glance

"On the face of it, it's simple."

"On the face of it, the proposal seemed like a good idea, but closer inspection revealed flaws."

to fail to deal with all aspects of a problem, topic, etc.

"We only scratched the surface of the problem."

"We have only scratched the surface of this topic there is so much more to learn about it."

a situation or event that seems problematic or unfortunate at first but later results in something positive and pleasant

"Losing that job was a blessing in disguise."

"Losing that job was a blessing in disguise because it pushed me to start my own successful business."

a general analysis of something

"From the tower, we had a bird's eye view."

"The report provided a bird's eye view of the market trends."

to understand something from a general perspective without getting too involved in details

"He can't see the forest for the trees."

"Try to see the forest for the trees and focus on the main goal."

used in a situation where details need to be closely inspecterd or paid attention to

"The plan looks fine, but the devil is in the details."

"We must be careful; the devil is in the details of this plan."

to make sure no detail goes unnoticed in compeleting a task

"The contract is ready, we just need to dot the i's and cross the t's."

"Please dot the i's and cross the t's on this report before submitting it."

an individual who posesses great influence over someone who is officially in charge

"His advisor is the power behind the throne."

"The queen's mother was the true power behind the throne for many years."

used to say that something is discussed in a general or basic way, without going into too much detail or specific information

"She described the plan in broad strokes."

"He explained the project in broad strokes, so we understood the main idea."

used to imply a very careful and thorough examination of something, often with great attention to detail and a focus on finding even the smallest flaws or errors

"The police searched the room with a fine-tooth comb."

"We need to go through the budget with a fine-tooth comb to find savings."

used to refer to a person's true feelings or beliefs that they may not openly show

"Deep down, she is a kind person."

"Deep down he knows that he made the wrong decision but he is too proud to admit it."

the overall view or perspective of a situation, rather than focusing on small details

"You need to look at the bigger picture."

"You need to look at the bigger picture instead of focusing on small mistakes and problems."

used to suggest that a situation or story is more complicated or interesting than what has been revealed or discussed so far

"You don't know the half of it."

"She told us part of the story, but that's not the half of it."