a wee problem

a little problem

TRANSLATION

a wee problem = ein kleineres Problem --- GOOGLE INDEX a wee problem: approximately 18,000 Google hits

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

Trains suffer A WEE PROBLEM

(Edinburgh Evening News - Headline)

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"I know he's had A WEE PROBLEM with his knee but we've been able to manage that over the past few weeks."

(The Scottish Sun newspaper)

Did you
know?

a wee problem
noun phrase

- a minor problem

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The adjective "wee," which is Scottish in origin, means small, minor, a little of something. It is also colloquial for going to the bathroom (I'll be right back. I have to go wee.) Newspapers enjoy using both definitions as a play on words. Here is a nice example from a British newspaper:

Welsh Assembly has a Wee Problem

The mascot of the Royal Regiment of Wales was ejected for failing to follow parliamentary etiquette. Shenkin, a white goat, has already met the Queen, Prince Charles and the Emperor of Japan. However, he produced the wrong kind of leak while being paraded in front of assembly members on Thursday and was given the order of the boot. A conservative member is quoted as saying that Shenkin's little accident was probably a judgement on the assembly's performance.

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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation

"The garage charged me more than a thousand euro to fix a wee problem with my car."

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