The phrase "do you have any idea how little that narrows it down" expresses frustration or humor about how a given piece of information barely helps to reduce many possibilities or answers. It comes from a scene in the animated series Batman Beyond, where a villain responds to Batman that the information he gave does not help figure out his identity. Beyond its origin, practically it means that the information provided barely reduces the broad range of options or answers being considered.
In the context of searching or researching, this concept applies when initial information or search terms result in too many results, so strategies are needed to narrow down options effectively. Common techniques to narrow down include adding more specific search terms, using quotation marks for exact phrases, applying filters such as date or document type, and using logical operators like AND, OR, or NOT to focus results.
So, when someone says "do you have any idea how little that narrows it down," they're highlighting that the given clue or detail is insufficient to significantly focus or solve the problem, and further specification or refinement is necessary.
