iceberg's tip
- noun
- /ˈaɪsbɜrɡz tɪp/
- Informal
:
punta del iceberg
- Scientists warn that visible symptoms are the iceberg's tip of the disease's true impact.
Examples
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That's just the iceberg's tip!
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What we discovered was only the iceberg's tip of corruption within the company.
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The complaints are just the iceberg's tip; many more issues remain unreported.
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Look at the iceberg's tip!
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The conflict over water rights is just the iceberg's tip of deeper issues between the communities.
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Rising unemployment rates are only the iceberg's tip; many families are struggling even more behind the scenes.
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Her complaints about the school are merely the iceberg's tip of a much larger dissatisfaction among parents.
How Revealing
Surface Forms
Morphology
iceberg's + tip
The literal meanings of 'iceberg' and 'tip' (the visible extremity of a much larger unseen body) make the metaphorical sense — a small visible part of a larger hidden problem — readily inferable, especially since many languages use the same image. However, the mapping from the physical image to the abstract idea of a hidden problem is a metaphorical extension, so learners may not automatically infer the idiomatic usage without prior exposure.
Etymology
Iceberg's tip comes from the real image of an iceberg: only a small tip shows above the sea while most of it stays hidden below the water. That's why it means a visible sign is only the 'small part' of a much larger, 'hidden' problem.