tip of the iceberg

plural tips of icebergs · plural rare tips of the icebergs

1. idiomaticA small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems.

   This is only the tip of the iceberg. Our time together can become much more exciting.

   5 more examples

   It is sufficient that the former provided the setting for implanting in the minds of the jury the notion that Sinhel had engaged in other related crimes and making that notion explicit with regard to the defendant by the "tip of the iceberg" argument. In short, the prosecutor insinuated Sinhel had been given many gifts and gratuities for an illegal purpose, probably from the defendant, beyond those for which the defendant was charged and beyond those for which proof was offered at the trial. The prejudice of a defendant of inviting conviction on facts—if they be such—dehors the record is counter to the basic concept of fairness.

   1968 July 18, [Harrison Lee] Winter, Circuit Judge, “[Appendix A] United States of America, Appellee, versus Bernard D. Grossman, Apellant”, in Bernard D. Grossman, Petitioner, v. United States of America, Respondent: Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, [Richmond, Va.]: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, page 8a

   The exposed tip of the iceberg, the recognized illness that brings a man to his doctor, is relatively small compared with the hidden mass of undetected disease, or 'at risk' people, in the population.

   1970, J. K. Brierley, “The Iceberg of Disease”, in Biology and the Social Crisis: A Social Biology for Everyman, 1st American edition, Rutherford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, →ISBN, page 117

   The blacking out of the lights of the nation's biggest city could be a blessing in disguise. It brought to light, dramatically, the deep unrest in a large part of the Black and Latin population and it emphasized the fact that something must be done and soon to quiet that unrest. And it may be that the current unrest is just the tip of the iceberg.

   1977 September, “The Tip of the Iceberg”, in John H[arold] Johnson, editor, Ebony, volume XXXII, number 11, Chicago, Ill.: Johnson Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 132, column 2

   The number of dishonest scientists cannot, of course, be known, but even if they were common enough to justify scary talk of ‘tips of icebergs’ they have not been so numerous as to prevent science’s having become the most successful enterprise (in terms of the fulfilment of declared ambitions) that human beings have ever engaged upon.

   1996, Peter Medawar, “Scientific Fraud”, in The Strange Case of the Spotted Mice: And Other Classic Essays on Science, Oxford, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 196

   Records document nineteen legal cases involving the charge of sodomy and five executions from 1607 to 1740, although this is no doubt just the tip of the iceberg of actual incidents. Even the minimal evidence we do have suggests that ordinary people, in contrast to the ministers and legislators, did not always harshly judge people accused of same-sex sexuality.

   1999, Leila J. Rupp, “In the Beginning: Same-sex Sexuality in Early America”, in A Desired Past: A Short History of Same-sex Love in America, Chicago, Ill.; London: University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 30

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tip, iceberg.