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farther
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.
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.
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."