本ほん末まつ

noun

essence and fringe; root and branch; means and end

Used in philosophical or analytical contexts to contrast the fundamental and the peripheral, or the essential and the incidental. Often appears in the set phrase 本末を転倒する (to put the cart before the horse).

• 本ほん末まつを転てん倒とうしてはいけない。

  Don't confuse the means with the end.

• 彼かれの議ぎ論ろんは本ほん末まつをわきまえていない。

  His argument doesn't distinguish between the essential and the incidental.