Study & education
scratch the surface
explore only a small part
To scratch the surface means to learn about or deal with only a small part of something.
Hear it in real life
Did you understand the whole report?
Not really; I only scratched the surface.
This introductory course only scratches the surface of modern psychology.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: Scratch on the surface of the problem.
Say: Scratch the surface of the problem.
The idiom takes the direct object "the surface" without "on."
Build it
How it fits in a sentence.
scratch the surface of something; barely scratch the surface
Your turn: say it out loud
This introductory course only scratches the surface of modern psychology.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
scratch the surface
explore only a small part
“This introductory course only scratches the surface of modern psychology.”
heytardy
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