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Glite Dictionary
🪳 A small problem 🦟 A skin swelling
flea bite

flea bite

5.3
A very small problem that is not important compared to bigger ones
  • noun
  • /fliː baɪt/
  • Informal
translation icon : molestia menor
  • After the stressful week at work, she realized that the missed deadline was just a flea bite in the grand scheme of things.

Examples

  • This problem is just a flea bite compared to what we faced last year.

  • The money lost in the deal was a flea bite to the wealthy investor.

  • Compared to the challenges she had faced last year, this setback was just a flea bite.

  • Missing one meeting is a flea bite compared to the problems we've had before.

  • I can handle a flea bite of criticism.

  • The small error in the report was merely a flea bite compared to the success of the overall project.

  • Losing a couple of dollars on the vending machine was just a flea bite when I considered my savings for the vacation.

Antonyms

major issue
51 3.2

An important problem that needs a solution

serious issue
41 3.0

A problem that needs careful attention and action

How Serious

wound
971 2.2
cut
337 1.0
bruise
266 1.6
flea bite
  • Informal
5.3
to itch
48 1.0

Surface Forms

flea bite singular
flea bites plural

Morphology

flea + bite

The meaning 'a small swelling or irritation caused by the bite of a flea' is directly and literally composed from 'flea' (an insect that feeds on blood) + 'bite' (the wound or mark resulting from biting). This straightforward noun-noun combination is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The idiom flea bite comes from the tiny, itchy mark a flea leaves when it bites the skin. So, when people call a problem a flea bite, they mean it is just 'a very small problem' compared with larger troubles.