from/for?

[Donald M Lance]

Maybe it was intentional -- that this prosecutor is capable of climbing up
trees from which she can see the forest.
DMLance

> From: Kim & Rima McKinzey <rkmck at EARTHLINK.NET>
> Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2002 14:20:52 -0800
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: from/for?
>
> In today's SF Chronicle, an article about the San Francisco
> prosecutor chosen for the Enron probe, has the following quote:
>
> "She can see the forest from the trees."
>
> I know this is a twist on the "can't see the forest...  - but isn't
> it FOR the trees?
>
> Is this another of those changes (like eating your cake and having it
> too, or could care less) due to someone thinking you had to climb the
> tree to see the forest, maybe?
>
> Rima
>