本末

the whole course of an event from beginning to end / ins and outs / the fundamental and the incidental

root / stem / origin / source / this / the current / original / inherent / originally / classifier for books, periodicals, files etc

tip / end / final stage / latter part / inessential detail / powder / dust / opera role of old man

lit. to invert root and branch (idiom); fig. confusing cause and effect / to stress the incidental over the fundamental / to put the cart before the horse