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tip of the iceberg

Only a hint or suggestion of a much larger or more complex issue or problem: “The money missing from petty cash was only the tip of the iceberg of financial mismanagement.” This phrase alludes to the fact that the bulk of a floating iceberg is concealed beneath the water, leaving only a small portion, its tip, visible above.

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Idioms and Phrases

Superficial evidence of a much larger problem, as in Laying off a hundred workers is only the tip of the iceberg. This idiom alludes to the structure of an iceberg, most of whose bulk lies underwater. [Mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Scents I’ve loved for years but I know are just the tip of the iceberg.

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The researchers say it is a reminder of the need to conserve Earth's remaining sloths, which represent only the tip of the iceberg of 30 million years of evolutionary history.

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He said he feared the cuts so far were just "the tip of the iceberg".

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But that turned out to be only the tip of the iceberg.

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That's likely to be the tip of the iceberg.

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Related Words

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frivolous��
one-dimensional��
perfunctory��
silly��
sketchy��
slight��
trivial��

tip-off tip one's hand

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