English · Idiom Candidate

broad and shallow

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Lacking depth or detail, but covering a wide range of topics

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Thiếu sâu sắc nhưng bao gồm nhiều chủ đề

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: wide and not deep

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The textbook was broad and shallow, not providing enough information on any one subject

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.

Sense 2

Meaning · English

an epithet applied to the so-called "Broad Church," in contradistinction to the "High" and "Low" Churches. See HIGH and DRY.

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English

Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “broad and shallow” mean?

Lacking depth or detail, but covering a wide range of topics Literally: wide and not deep

Is “broad and shallow” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.