the tip of the iceberg



the tip of the iceberg

a small part of a problem or a difficult situation which is really much larger than it seems
Usage notes: An iceberg is a very large mass of ice that floats in the sea and often it is only possible to see a small part of it.
What you saw last night was just the tip of the iceberg. The difficulties we've discussed are only the tip of the iceberg.
See also: iceberg, of, tip

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Tikva-Hebrew
Noeminaw-E-mee (Italian)Italian, German, Czech, Biblical Latin
Matyldamah-TIL-dah (Polish)Czech, Polish
ŽIva-Slavic Mythology, Slovene
Mefodiy-Russian (Archaic)
Lugh-Irish Mythology