camel's nose
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
a small part of something that may lead to larger, unwanted consequences
Literally: the nose of a camel
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
If we let them build a small shop, it's just the camel's nose under the tent.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “camel's nose” mean?
a small part of something that may lead to larger, unwanted consequences Literally: the nose of a camel
Is “camel's nose” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.