# The thin end of the wedge



## rupertbrooke

'The end of the wedge' means the start of a harmful development:-
'There are those who see the closure of the hospital as the thin end of the wedge.'


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## peptidoglycan

Hi ruper. This is Turkish Section of the forum. I don't understand your post.


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## rupertbrooke

Is there a Turkish equivalent for 'the thin end of the wedge'. It means in a long-winded paraphrase:- sonradan başa iş açabilecek önemsiz şey.


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## Reverence

The closest Turkish equivalent of the phrase that I can think of is _çıban başı_ (basically the head of a boil), although it's mostly used to indicate people rather than events and such.


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## rupertbrooke

Thanks so much! I look for concise phrases rather than long definitions. This phrase, subject to the reservations you have made, is fit for purpose.


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## Reverence

Glad that helped!


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## Estella

I'd like to add that the TDK (Türk Dİl Kurumu) dictionary defines the phrase "çıbanın başını koparmak" as "ağır bir sorunun patlak vermesine yol açmak" (http://tdkterim.gov.tr/bts/)
So it refers to actions rather than to people and therefore could be more or less the exact equivalent of the phrase "the thin end of the wedge".


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## rupertbrooke

Excellent addition to Reverence's entry. It is almost the exact equivalent. Many thanks, Estella, for the reference also!


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