small if

By comparison with big if.

small if (plural small ifs)

1. A likely condition.
   • 2016, John C. Wolff Jr., Letters on presidential race, Lexington Herald Leader:

     I think Donald “The Presumptive” Trump wants Hillary Clinton to go to jail (guilty or not) so he might have (and I think that’s a big “if”) someone to talk to when he is in jail for fraud in the Trump University case (and I think that’s a small “if”).

   • 2018, Mike Rego, Council approves last portion of East Providence water system improvements, EastBayRI:

     If everything goes according to plan, and that’s a small “if” not a large one, then the last key aspect of the long-term fix to East Providence’s water system was approved by the council at its meeting Tuesday night, June 19.

   • 2020, Streetsblog, Thursday’s Headlines: Civic War Edition, Streetsblog NYC:

     On Wednesday (see photo right), we reported our confusion about why Riders Alliance was tweeting negative things about a Wall Street Journal story that reported on a new lobbying group, the Campaign for New York’s Future, that sought to influence how our city is reshaped if (and that’s a big “if”) the COVID-19 pandemic passes.... The other huge story of the day is how deeply the MTA will be forced to cut service if (and that’s a small “if”) the federal government fails to provide any more relief funding.

• misfall