a worm's eye view

worm's eye view

A limited understanding of something due to a lack of a broad perspective. It is the opposite of the more common phrase "bird's eye view." Because he was stuck in the same menial position for so long, he only had a worm's eye view of how the business operated.
See also: eye, view
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a worm's eye view

1. If you have a a worm's eye view of something, you see it from a low position. If only gardeners would take a worm's eye view of their lawns, they would discover a mass of fascinating and useful information.
2. If someone has a worm's eye view of a situation, they are able to form an impression of it from an unimportant or junior position. Let me offer a worm's eye view of what Thatcherism was, and what its legacy may be. Compare with a bird's-eye view.
See also: eye, view
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • a worm's-eye view
  • worm's eye view
  • bird's eye view
  • bird's-eye view
  • a bird's eye view
  • a bird's-eye view
  • eye-view
  • bird's-eye view, a
  • (as) sure as eggs (is eggs)
  • view
References in periodicals archive
A Worm's Eye View By: Caren Trafford Etram RRP: $17.95
Among the specific topics: "A Worm's Eye View of Urban Soil" by Phil Craul of Syracuse University; "Tree Roots and Sidewalk Conflicts" by Phil Barker of the U.S.