the tip of the iceberg

Significato

a small visible part of a much larger problem

Piccola parte visibile di un problema molto più grande.

Esempi

1. 1These ten complaints are only the tip of the iceberg; most unhappy customers never write to us.
2. 2The leaking roof turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg in that old house.
3. 3The inspectors found three errors, but they believe that's the tip of the iceberg and hundreds more exist.
4. 4Ben's missed payment may be the tip of the iceberg, as his post is full of unpaid bills.
5. 5A new survey suggests the reported cases of fraud are only the tip of the iceberg.

Grammatica

Restano entrambi gli articoli the e la preposizione of. Spesso si usa dopo only o just.