the tip of the iceberg

意味

a small visible part of a much larger problem

大きな問題のうち表に見えているごく一部.

例文

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.

文法

二つの定冠詞 the と前置詞 of は変えない。only や just の後に置くことが多い。