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Reader question: “This young lady is merely scratching the surface of her playing abilities.” What does it mean? My comments: The speaker commends the young woman for her ability to play, while at the same time suggesting she’s going to be even better in future. “Scratching the surface” is the phrase to grasp here. This is an American idiom, I believe, and a good one. You may want to learn this phrase together with a similar one, and that is to “scratch below the surface.” Literally, to “scratch the surface” of something is to brush, rub and claw at its surface, i.e. figuratively speaking to deal with something at the superficial level. To scratch below the surface, on the other hand, is to discover what’s inside, i.e. to delve into a subject in order to find out the nitty-gritty of it. News in brief, say, is kind of scratching the surface. Investigative reporting, on the other hand, is, like, scratching below the surface. You can see that this phrase could easily have been inspired by archaeologists who dig for fossils or uncover old graves. At first, they scratch the surface of the earth or a piece of rock, carefully looking for signs of any relic. If there’s something worth exploring further, they then scratch below the surface. Alright, in the top example, the speaker means to say the lady is young and upcoming. She’s only shown us a little bit of her playing skills. Give her time to grow, and she’ll prove to be an even better player. In other words, scratch below the surface, and we’ll be able to see more of her huge potential. | 
