English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
ON “THE”
Most people have a few skeletons in ~their~ cupboard (nonstandard).
Most people have a few skeletons in *the* cupboard (standard).
If you say that someone has a skeleton in the closet, or in British English a skeleton in the cupboard, you mean that they are keeping secret a bad or embarrassing fact about themselves.
It appears that the hike is just ~a~ tip of the iceberg (nonstandard).
It appears that the hike is just *the* tip of the iceberg (standard).
If you say that a problem is the tip of the iceberg, you mean that it is one small part of a much larger problem.
The improvement has been ~across board~ (nonstandard).
The improvement has been *across the board* (standard).
If a policy or a situation applies across the board, it affects everything or everyone in a particular group.
GAB
