tip of the iceberg

英語

詞源

冰山一角

漂浮在海面上的冰山通常只露出其十分之一體積。20世紀初的用法據信受到了泰坦尼克號撞擊冰山後沉沒事故的影響。

發音

• (標準英音) 國際音標^(幫助): /ˈtɪp‿əv ðiː ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/
• (通用美式) 國際音標^(幫助): /ˈtɪp‿əv ði ˈaɪsbɝɡ/

• 音頻 (澳大利亞)：

  (檔案)

• 斷字：tip of the ice‧berg

名詞

tip of the iceberg (複數 tips of icebergs 或 (罕用) tips of the icebergs)

1. (俗語) 冰山一角

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

   這只是冰山一角。我們在一起的時光可以變得更加精彩。

   • 1970, J. K. Brierley, 「The Iceberg of Disease」, 出自 Biology and the Social Crisis: A Social Biology for Everyman, 1st American版, Rutherford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, →ISBN，第 117 頁:

     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.

     暴露出來的冰山一角，即導致人們去看醫生的已知疾病，與人群中未被發現的大量疾病或「高危」人群相比，相對較小。

   • 1999, Leila J. Rupp, 「In the Beginning: Same-sex Sexuality in Early America」, 出自 A Desired Past: A Short History of Same-sex Love in America, Chicago, Ill., London: University of Chicago Press, →ISBN，第 30 頁:

     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.

     記錄顯示，從1607年到1740年，有19起涉及雞姦指控的法律案件和5起處決，儘管這無疑只是實際事件的冰山一角。即使我們掌握的最低限度的證據也表明，與牧師和立法者不同，普通人並不總是嚴厲地評判被指控同性戀的人。

   • 2001, Kathryn Hendley, 「Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg: Business Disputes in Russia」, 出自 Peter Murrell 編, Assessing the Value of Law in Transition Economies, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, →ISBN，第 20 頁:

     [O]nly a tiny portion of disagreements—the proverbial tip of the iceberg—ever ends up in court. Most agreements drop out along the way, either because they are settled or because the allegedly wronged party decides that the potential costs of proceeding outweigh the potential benefits

     只有一小部分（俗話說是冰山一角）分歧最終訴諸法庭。大多數協議在訴訟過程中被擱置，要麼是因為已經達成和解，要麼是因為據稱受害的一方認為訴訟的潛在成本大於潛在收益

   • 2021年10月10日, Caroline Anders, 「A TikTok bone salesman’s wall of spines reignites ethical debate over selling human remains」, 出自 The Washington Post‎^[1]:

     This collection is not even the tip of the human remains iceberg, according to Damien Huffer, an adjunct research professor at Carleton University in Canada. Collectors across the world have much larger collections than JonsBones, he said, and the trade far predates TikTok.

     加拿大卡爾頓大學兼職研究教授達 Damien Huffer 表示，這些藏品甚至還只是人類遺骸的冰山一角。他說，世界各地的收藏家擁有的藏品比喬恩斯的藏品多得多，而且這種貿易遠早於 TikTok 的出現。

派生詞彙

• tip of the ice cube

參見

• cockroach theory
• drop in the ocean
• scratch the surface

延伸閱讀

• tip of the iceberg (disambiguation)在英語維基百科上的資料。維基百科 ^en
• 「the tip of the iceberg」，Lexico，Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press，2019–present年.