Is there an idiom for explaining something in extreme detail? I know there is an idiom for getting rid of something "root and branch", but based on the examples I've seen, this cannot be used in this kind of context, or can it?
I am looking for a phrase of some sort, somewhat pejorative but a funny one – an idiom, colloquialism or something multi-word. In my language we have a saying that someone explains something and "includes the root" or "explains every pond and pool", e.g. when someone asks the shortest way from point A to point B, and instead of telling which one it is, you start describing every rock and tree and bush on the way, which really is not at all informative. Pretty much an exact opposite to "cutting to the chase".
Best Answer
In my shop we call this getting too deep into the weeds, which is the opposite of taking the thirty-thousand-foot view.
I'm afraid business-communications outfits like mine are sorta heirs to the Madison Avenue tradition that created gems like run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.