bubble under

English

Verb

bubble under (third-person singular simple present bubbles under, present participle bubbling under, simple past and past participle bubbled under)

1. (intransitive) To remain beneath a level.

   The results bubbled under the limit.

2. (intransitive) To be in the background or margins of a phenomenon.

   The Republicans were bubbling under in the area, waiting for an electoral break.

3. (intransitive) To be successful on a modest scale, without yet being fully established.

   The band was still bubbling under then, but their fame was about to explode.

   • 1971, Billboard, volume 83, number 13, page 31:

     The record first happened a few years ago in Florida and had considerable sales. A year later, the record broke out again in Florida and again experienced considerable sales. Both times, it either made the chart or bubbled under.

   • 2015 November 25, The Independent‎^[1]:

     The new wave of green power is bubbling under in Swansea Bay.