老鼠拖木锨,大头在后头

lǎo shǔ tuō mù xiān , dà tóu zài hòu tou

when the mice drag a shovel, the biggest thing comes second

the tip of the iceberg; the cockroach principle

lǎo

prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity

shǔ

(bound form) rat; mouse

tuō

variant of 拖[tuo1]

(bound form) tree

xiān

shovel

,

big; large; great

tóu

head

zài

to exist; to be alive

hòu

back

tou

suffix for nouns