"thin end of the wedge" meaning in English

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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The MP told parliament that legalising cannabis would be the thin end of the wedge."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 August 14, April Stroud, Making Sense of Land Law, Bloomsbury Publishing",
          "text": "This is known as the 'thin end of the wedge' argument raised by people who don't want to lose the protection of restrictive covenants. The 'thin end of the wedge' means that when you drive a wedge into something, you use the thin end first because it's easier than using the thick end.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Something that if allowed or accepted to a small degree would lead to systematic encroachment."
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        [
          "encroachment",
          "encroachment"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Something that if allowed or accepted to a small degree would lead to systematic encroachment."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "give them an inch and they'll take a mile"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "small end of the wedge"
        },
        {
          "word": "thin edge of the wedge"
        }
      ],
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  "word": "thin end of the wedge"
}

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    {
      "form": "the thin end of the wedge",
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  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "give them an inch and they'll take a mile"
    }
  ],
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The MP told parliament that legalising cannabis would be the thin end of the wedge."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 August 14, April Stroud, Making Sense of Land Law, Bloomsbury Publishing",
          "text": "This is known as the 'thin end of the wedge' argument raised by people who don't want to lose the protection of restrictive covenants. The 'thin end of the wedge' means that when you drive a wedge into something, you use the thin end first because it's easier than using the thick end.",
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        "Something that if allowed or accepted to a small degree would lead to systematic encroachment."
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        ],
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          "encroachment",
          "encroachment"
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      ],
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        "(idiomatic) Something that if allowed or accepted to a small degree would lead to systematic encroachment."
      ],
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        "idiomatic"
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  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "small end of the wedge"
    },
    {
      "word": "thin edge of the wedge"
    }
  ],
  "word": "thin end of the wedge"
}