bikeshedding
Figurative meaning
spending a disproportionate amount of time on trivial details while ignoring the important parts of a problem
Why this phrase?
From Parkinson's Law of Triviality: a committee will happily approve a nuclear reactor design but fight for hours over the bike shed, because everyone can have an opinion on a shed.
Example
“We argued about button colors for an hour — classic bikeshedding while the API is still broken.”
Dictionary details
Related idioms
Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.
circle back
Informal · CEFR B1
to return to a topic or person later, after other things have happened
kick off
Informal · CEFR B1
to begin an event, meeting, or project
read the room
Informal · CEFR B1
to sense the mood, expectations, and dynamics of the people present
touch base
Informal · CEFR B1
to make brief contact with someone, usually to update them or stay connected
wrap up
Informal · CEFR B1
to finish or summarize an activity or meeting
balancing act
Neutral · CEFR B2
a difficult situation in which someone must divide time, attention, or importance between competing needs
Source methodology
Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.