“The tip of the iceberg” is an idiom that means that the subject is a small part of something (usually a problem) that is actually much larger. For example, “These complaints are just the tip of the iceberg. You haven’t even seen the worst ones!“

The idea behind this idiom is that an iceberg is usually mostly hidden underwater, and we can only see the small portion of it that is above water. Thus implying that there is a larger portion of this situation that is hidden. However, there are a few variations in this idiom, and it is not always negative.

For instance, in today’s dialogue, Rick says, “I feel like I’ve barely begun to scratch the tip of the iceberg that is NYC.” Here “to scratch” means to uncover or discover, and the iceberg is NYC. So, Rick means that he’s barely begun to discover the many things that NYC has to offer.

The suffix “-wise” can be used for many different purposes. We see it in the words “lengthwise” or “clockwise,” in which case it means “in the direction of.” In this lesson, however, it means “concerning” or “as for.” When it has this meaning, we use a hyphen to attach it to the noun, and it forms an adjective or adverb.

For example, in the dialogue, we see the sentence “Culture-wise, it‘s a great place too.” This means that Vancouver is also great regarding its culture.

A common scenario is when someone asks us how we’re doing. We might reply by saying, “Work-wise my life is good, but money-wise, I’m having trouble.” This means that work is going well, but there are some financial problems.

In this lesson, we saw the subordinate clause “With more Michelin-star restaurants than any other city.” This “with” clause gives support to the claim of the sentence: Tokyo has a culinary scene for any palate. This is one common way to use this “with” clause.

Another way to use this type of clause is like the phrase “because of.” It can give an explanation or a concrete reason for a change, behavior or other fact (e.g., With the Olympics coming, Tokyo is improving its infrastructure).

This type of “with” clause is mostly used before the main clause of the sentence, especially in written or formal English.

What are the things or activities that you would do, if you are given the chance to go to a trip to Los Angeles for a week?

However, quintessential also means a perfect or typical example of a quality or class. If something is quintessential, it’s going to represent many aspects of the class or type as a whole.

Obviously, the two words are very similar. However, we tend to use “epitome” with more abstract nouns, like “boredom” or “success.” We can also use it with adjectives. We use quintessential to emphasize that one person or thing belongs to a particular type.

LA is the epitome of the American dream because it’s where this dream comes true for many famous people. LA is also the quintessential melting pot because it attracts people from everywhere and melts them into the local population.