farther

can't see farther than (one's) nose

1. Lacks the ability to foresee problems, issues, or obligations beyond the present or immediate future. Our boss is ambitious, but she can't see farther than her nose when it comes to scheduling projects with realistic deadlines.
2. Is so preoccupied with oneself or one's own problems as to be unaware of or indifferent to larger issues or other people. My ex-husband was always so wrapped up in work that he couldn't see farther than his nose, hardly ever making any time for me or the kids.
See also: farther, nose, see

can't see farther than the end of (one's) nose

1. To lack the ability to foresee problems, issues, or obligations beyond the present or immediate future. Our boss is ambitious, but she can't see farther than her nose when it comes to scheduling projects with realistic deadlines.
2. To be so preoccupied with oneself or one's own problems as to be unaware of or indifferent to larger issues or other people. My ex-husband was always so wrapped up in work that he couldn't see farther than the end of his nose, hardly ever making any time for me or the kids.
See also: end, farther, nose, of, see

far/farther/further afield

1. Larger in scope. This project has gone far afield after our initial experiment didn't yield the data we were looking for.
2. Away from some place or thing. If you want to travel further afield, though, it'll be a very long walk.
See also: afield, far, farther, further

I wouldn't trust (someone) farther than I could throw (them)

I do not trust someone at all. You want me to tell our plans to Jill? I wouldn't trust Jill farther than I could throw her.
See also: could, farther, throw, trust

not trust (someone) farther than (one) can throw (them)

To be very suspicious of someone; to not trust or believe someone. You want me to tell our plans to Jill? I don't trust Jill farther than I can throw her. The government is asking us to believe that they'll apply the new tax fairly, but I wouldn't trust them farther than I can throw them.
See also: can, farther, not, throw, trust

nothing could be further from (something)

What we are discussing is the complete opposite of something. They claim that the tax overhaul was designed with lower- and middle-class earners in mind, but nothing could be further from the truth! Nothing could be further from reality—I have never accepted bribes in my entire career.
See also: could, further, nothing

nothing could be further from my mind

That is the complete opposite of what I'm thinking. A: "You're regretting settling down and having kids, aren't you?" B: "No, nothing could be further from my mind!"
See also: could, further, mind, nothing

take (something) further

To advance an action, argument, or complaint to a higher level or more serious degree. To avoid having the ex-employee take the lawsuit any further, the company offered a settlement many believe to be worth several million dollars. I intend to take this matter further with the board of directors if you are unwilling to tender your resignation here and now.
See also: further, take

the nearer the church, the farther from God

proverb The higher up someone is in the church hierarchy, the more likely they are to be corrupt, immoral, or sinful. A: "It turns out the archbishop himself was the one who ran the entire cover-up operation." B: "Doesn't surprise me. The nearer the church, the farther from God." The highest order of the church is shrouded in secrecy, but the few reports that make their way to the public often detail a decadent, even vulgar lifestyle. I suppose, as they say, the nearer the church, the farther from God.
See also: farther, god, nearer
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

nearer the church, the farther from God

Prov. Church officials, or people who live near the church, are not truly pious. Jill: I think our pastor is an evil man. Jane: I didn't think evil men could be pastors. Jill: Of course they can! The nearer the church, the farther from God.
See also: farther, god, nearer
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

can't see beyond the end of one's nose

Also, can't see farther than the end of one's nose. Lack foresight, envisioning only immediate events or problems, as in Thomas hasn't hired an orchestra for the Christmas concert; he just can't see beyond the end of his nose . This expression originated as a French proverb that was frequently cited in English from about 1700 on. Alexander Pope used a similar expression in his Essay on Man (1734): "Onward still he goes, Yet ne'er looks forward further than his nose."
See also: beyond, end, nose, of, see
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

far/farther/further aˈfield

far away from home; to or in places that are not near: You can hire a car if you want to explore further afield. Journalists came from as far afield as China and Brazil.
See also: afield, far, farther, further
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

can't see beyond the end of one's nose

Shortsighted, unable to grasp anything but the immediate problem or events. The term was a sixteenth-century French proverb cited by several English writers. It later appeared in one of La Fontaine’s fables, The Fox and the Goat, and in a couplet in Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man (1734): “Onward still he goes, Yet ne’er looks forward further than his nose.”
See also: beyond, end, nose, of, see
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • cannot see further than your nose
  • can't see farther than (one's) nose
  • can't see farther than the end of (one's) nose
  • can't see (any) further than the end of (one's) nose
  • cannot see any further than the end of one’s nose
  • cannot see further than the end of one’s nose
  • can't see further than (the end of) (one's) (own) nose
  • see no further than (the end of) (one's) (own) nose
  • see no further than the end of nose
  • beyond the horizon
References in classic literature
When we were abroad pushing our trail farther and farther toward the distant break which, we assumed, marked a feasible way across the range, we never knew at what second some great engine of clawed and fanged destruction might rush upon us from behind, or lie in wait for us beyond an ice-hummock or a jutting shoulder of the craggy steeps.
Pellucidar
I was now alone in a most remote part of the world, for I was near three thousand leagues by sea farther off from England than I was at my island; only, it is true, I might travel here by land over the Great Mogul's country to Surat, might go from thence to Bassora by sea, up the Gulf of Persia, and take the way of the caravans, over the desert of Arabia, to Aleppo and Scanderoon; from thence by sea again to Italy, and so overland into France.
I got so much money by my first adventure, and such an insight into the method of getting more, that had I been twenty years younger, I should have been tempted to have stayed here, and sought no farther for making my fortune; but what was all this to a man upwards of threescore, that was rich enough, and came abroad more in obedience to a restless desire of seeing the world than a covetous desire of gaining by it?
Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
Those persons who were walking outside the town, where the houses were farther apart, with gardens or little fields between them, could see the evening sky still better, and heard the sound of the bell much more distinctly.
He thought the bell sounded from the depths of these still lakes; but then he remarked again that the tone proceeded not from there, but farther off, from out the depths of the forest.
Andersens Fairy Tales
'Come into the ship with us,' answered the Simpleton; and the man was only too glad to join them, and he got in; and the ship flew on, farther and farther, till again the Simpleton from his outlook saw a man on the road below, carrying on his back a basket full of bread.
And so the mighty drinker was added to the company; and the ship flew farther, and even farther, till again the Simpleton looked out, and this time he saw a man dragging a bundle of wood, walking through the forest beneath them.
Yellow Fairy Book