管くだを以もって天てんを窺うかがう

expression, godan verb (-u)

have a narrow view of things; look at the sky through a tube

Idiomatic expression meaning to have a limited perspective or to judge things from a narrow viewpoint. The literal image is of trying to see the vast sky through a thin tube.

See also: 管窺

• 彼かれの意い見けんは管くだを以もって天てんを窺うかがうようなものだ。

  His opinion is like looking at the sky through a tube—narrow and limited.

• 一ひとつの事じ例れいだけで判断だんするのは、管くだを以もって天てんを窺うかがうに等ひとしい。

  Judging based on just one case is tantamount to having a narrow view of things.