Idioms about Details
If you are a perfectionist, used to plan projects down to the last detail and go into details while telling something, then surely you will adore these 5 idioms and proverbs about the great importance of details.
God/the devil is in the detail(s)
The details of something are of paramount importance, and you should always examine or pay attention to them in any proposition you are considering or any project you undertake.
Перевод: Бог/дьявол виден в мелочах; все дело в мелочах.
Пример: "God may be in the details, but the goddess is in the questions. Once we begin to ask them, there's no turning back." (Gloria Steinem)
Read the contract very carefully before you sign. Remember that the devil is in the details, and there may be hidden drawbacks or unacceptable conditions that are not immediately apparent.
For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, and for want of a horse the rider was lost
Do not neglect minor details that seem insignificant in themselves.
Вариант: for want of a nail the kingdom was lost.
Перевод: не было гвоздя - подкова пропала.
Пример: We must check and double-check everything - even the smallest error or omission may have disastrous consequences. Remember the proverb "For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, and for want of a horse the rider was lost."
For want of a nail the shoe was lost, For want of a shoe the horse was lost, For want of a horse the rider was lost, For want of a rider the battle was lost, For want of a battle the kingdom was lost, And all for the want of horseshoe nail.
Lookers-on see most of the game
An objective observer with an overall view of a situation is often more knowledgeable, or better placed to make a judgment, than somebody who is actively involved, and whose attention is therefore focused on individual details.
Вариант: lookers-on see more than players.
Перевод: со стороны виднее.
Пример: Lookers-on see most of the game, and the solution was obvious to all except those who were trying to find it.
He was a keen observer of human nature, and if it is true that the looker-on knows most of the game, Mr. Satterthwaite knew a good deal. (A. Christie, "Dead Man's Mirror").
Straws show which way the wind blows
Small things, such as apparently trivial details or insignificant events, can be useful indicators of what is going to happen in the future.
The proverb has given rise to the figurative phrases a straw in the wind and to know (or see, find out,) which way the wind blows.
Вариант: it’s as well to know which way the wind blows.
Перевод: и мелочь порой имеет большое значение; и соломинка показывает, куда дует ветер.
Пример: A straw shows the way the wind blows. Something behind the scenes, Mr. Penniloe - more there than meets the eye. (R. Blackmore, "Perlycross").
We will have to see which way the wind blows to see if we can go to London or not.
The gory details
The specific (perhaps lurid, explicit, or gritty) details in an account of something.
Перевод: все детали, сведения, относительно какого-либо события, как правило, личного характера.
Пример: Come on, I want to know all the gory details about your date with John.
