Meanings
- humorousidiomaticThe first aspect of an insignificant or exaggerated problem or situation.
“Come on,” he said, “This is only the tip of the ice cube. Let me show you some of the stuff that never made it to the big screen.”
2021, Iain McCaig, Shadowline, page 671 more example
In fact, this is “just the tip of the ice cube,” for he also has to worry about the charges that have accrued at the camp's other watering hole, Rosie's bar.
2022, David Scott Diffrient, Comic Drunks, Crazy Cults, and Lovable Monsters, page 93
Origin
By analogy with tip of the iceberg, since an ice cube is a comparatively small piece of ice.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
tip of the ice cube. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tip%20of%20the%20ice%20cube
“tip of the ice cube.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tip%20of%20the%20ice%20cube. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tip of the ice cube,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tip%20of%20the%20ice%20cube.
Source: tip of the ice cube on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.