iceberg

Related to iceberg: Burberry, titanic

be the tip of the iceberg

To be only a small, often unrepresentative portion of something much larger or more complex that cannot yet be seen or understood. If Congress doesn't vote to extend the debt limit, a government shutdown will be the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the country will have to deal with. With mobile apps, you have to account for replay value, monetization, ad revenue, and how much the players will spread the game to their friends. Making a fun game is really just the tip of the iceberg!
See also: iceberg, of, tip

just the tip of the iceberg

Only a small, often unrepresentative portion of something much larger or more complex that cannot yet be seen or understood. If Congress doesn't vote to extend the debt limit, a government shutdown will be just the tip of the iceberg. The flooding is bad, but we're dealing with just the tip of the iceberg: a huge spate of environmental disasters are on the horizon because of climate change.
See also: iceberg, just, of, tip

the tip of the iceberg

Only a small, often unrepresentative portion of something much larger or more complex that cannot yet be seen or understood. If congress doesn't vote to extend the debt limit, a government shutdown will be just the tip of the iceberg. The flooding is bad, but we're dealing with just the tip of the iceberg—a huge spate of environmental disasters are on the horizon because of climate change.
See also: iceberg, of, tip
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

tip of the iceberg

Fig. only the part of something that can be easily observed, but not the rest of it, which is hidden. (Referring to the fact that the majority of an iceberg is below the surface of the water.) The problems that you see here now are just the tip of the iceberg. There are numerous disasters waiting to happen.
See also: iceberg, of, tip
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

tip of the iceberg

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]
See also: iceberg, of, tip
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

the tip of the iceberg

or

the tip of an iceberg

COMMON
1. If something is the tip of the iceberg or the tip of an iceberg, it is a small part of a very large problem or a very serious situation. We get about 2,000 complaints every year and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Figures show that there have been 700 official burglaries throughout the area, but police believe this is the tip of the iceberg.
2. If something is the tip of the iceberg or the tip of an iceberg, it is a small part of something large. These surveys are only the tip of an iceberg of continuing study. Note: People often use an adjective before iceberg to show what sort of thing it is. These songs are just the tip of the creative iceberg. Note: Only a very small part of an iceberg is visible above the water. About nine-tenths of it is below the surface.
See also: iceberg, of, tip
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

the tip of an (or the) iceberg

the small perceptible part of a much larger situation or problem which remains hidden.
This phrase refers to the fact that only about one fifth of the mass of an iceberg is visible above the surface of the sea.
1998 New Scientist This leaves pressure groups wondering whether there are further breaches still waiting to be discovered. Sue Mayer of Gene Watch asks: ‘Is it the tip of the iceberg?’
See also: iceberg, of, tip
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

be the tip of the ˈiceberg

what you can see of a problem or difficult situation is only one small part of a much larger hidden problem: The 1 000 homeless people in London sleeping in night shelters are only the tip of the iceberg. There are many thousands of homeless people in the capital.
Only 1/7 or 1/8 of an iceberg can be seen above the water.
See also: iceberg, of, tip
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

iceberg

n. a cold and unemotional person. (see also iceberg slim.) What an insensitive iceberg!

iceberg slim

1. n. a pimp. When iceberg slim came by in his pimpmobile, Jed made a rude sign at him.
2. n. a person who exploits others; a cold, heartless person. The guy’s a regular iceberg slim.
See also: iceberg, slim
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

tip of the iceberg

A small evident part or aspect of something largely hidden.
See also: iceberg, of, tip
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

tip of the iceberg, (only) the

A small and superficial manifestation of a much larger (and often worse) situation. Icebergs are large, floating masses of ice detached from a glacier and carried out to sea; the bulk of their mass is below the water’s surface. This metaphor dates from the mid-twentieth century. Michael Gilbert used it in The Etruscan Net (1969): “I think, to employ a well-known metaphor, that all we can see at the moment is the tip of the iceberg.”
See also: of, tip
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • be the tip of the iceberg
  • just the tip of the iceberg
  • the tip of an iceberg
  • the tip of the iceberg
  • tip of the iceberg
  • tip of the iceberg, (only) the
  • it's a (type of person) thing
  • it's a... thing
  • be/go against the grain
  • go against the grain
References in periodicals archive
He also claims the iceberg's presence could provide a more moist micro- climate in the area, perhaps even prompting rainfall.
EMIRATI BUSINESSMAN PLANS TO DRAG AN ICEBERG TO UAE
A pilot costing between $60 million (SR225m) and $80 million involving an Antarctic iceberg 1 km long and 500 meters wide will soon run, ending either in Perth, Australia, or Cape Town, South Africa.
How one man plans to tow an iceberg to the Arabian Gulf
New research, published today in the journal Nature Climate Change, has found that Antarctic icebergs can weaken and delay the effect of global warming in the Southern Hemisphere.
Study: Icebergs to Delay S. Hemisphere Warming
Laurent Lucazeau, a 34-year-old French tourist, says seeing an iceberg was sobering.
'Iceberg Corridor' sparks tourist boom on Canada's east coast
The iceberg is currently located at Herd Island and is 500 meters high and is estimated to be about 2 km long.
Plan to Drag Iceberg from Antarctica to Mid-East Desert
With the rift making its way toward the other crack, scientists warned that an estimated 660 square miles of ice will break from the shelf, and while it may not make it to the "top 20 list" of Antarctica's biggest icebergs, it may be the largest iceberg to break from the Brunt Ice Shelf.
Iceberg Twice The Size Of NYC To Break Off Antarctica
"Icebergs flip over a number of times during their lifespan, because their underwater surface melts faster and becomes lighter than the one above, causing their centre of gravity to switch.
Iceberg flips over to reveal glowing glacier in remarkable rare footage; Italian photographer Stefano Tiozzo was on a tourist boat filming the stunning view of Los Glaciares National Park, in Argentina, when the ice suddenly turned over with a massive roar
[USA], Oct 24 ( ANI ): Operation IceBridge, NASA's aerial survey of polar ice, captured two tabular icebergs while flying over the northern Antarctic Peninsula.
2 rectangular icebergs captured by NASA's IceBridge flight
Within an hour, I was on a boat tour chugging out to the iceberg, local folk songs blaring all the way.
Trip of the iceberg; Travel; With its icebergs and whales, Canada's remote island of Newfoundland is full of natural beauty; Just popping out for a berger
The evacuation happened only because the iceberg is so close to the village."
Massive Iceberg Threatens Greenland Village as Residents are Evacuated
The resulting iceberg, broken off from Greenland's Helheim Glacier, would stretch from lower Manhattan up to Midtown in New York City.
NYU: Scientists Capture Breaking of Glacier in Greenland
"Knowing how and in what ways icebergs calve is important for simulations because they ultimately determine global sea-level rise," said Denise Holland, the logistics coordinator for NYU's Environmental Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and NYU Abu Dhabi's Centre for Global Sea Level Change.
Abu Dhabi professor shoots iceberg calving
The pilot phase of the UAE Iceberg Project is expected to kick off during the second half of 2019, a report said.
UAE Iceberg Project pilot phase to start in 2019 H2
The pilot phase of the UAE Iceberg Project is expected to begin during the second half of next year, it has been revealed by the National Advisor Bureau Limited, the organisation behind the ambitious project.
UAE expected to tow first iceberg to its coast in 2020
But before large ocean going vessels attempt the 12,000-kilometre journey to tow leviathan icebergs from the Heard Island in the South Pole to the coast of Fujairah, the firm is planning a shorter pilot run in early 2019 that would float an iceberg to Australia or alternatively the southern coast of South Africa, said Abdullah Mohammad Sulaiman Al Shehi, managing director of National Adviser Bureau Limited.
Trial run for UAE iceberg project in 2019