tip of the iceberg
Pluraltips of icebergs
- 1A small visible portion of a problem that turns out to be far larger and more serious than it first appears.
Like noticing a single weed in the garden and later discovering its roots have spread everywhere underground.
The recall of a few thousand cars proved to be the tip of the iceberg, as deeper safety failures soon came to light.
For many families, the rising rent is only the tip of the iceberg of their financial troubles.
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Origin
The phrase comes from the fact that a floating iceberg has about nine-tenths of its volume hidden below the surface of the water. Early 20th-century uses of the term are believed to have been influenced by the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic on April 15, 1912, after it struck an iceberg.