to fly under the radar
9
5.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
pasar desapercibido
- Many small businesses fly under the radar to avoid attracting competitors.
- just fly under the radar
- try to fly under the radar
- managed to fly under the radar
But you know, when you're young, most kids just want to fly under the radar, have friends.
- But you know, when you're young, most kids just want to fly under the radar, have friends.
- And that's incredible in a car like this, one of the all time great supercars flies under the radar.
- So there's always an interest from a very young age of the villains, the people who were kind of trying to fly under the radar, the fancy suits, that's it.
Examples
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Jason Richardson can't continue to fly under the radar after performances like tonight.
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However, the one team that continued to fly under the radar was the Houston Texans.
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We could fly under the radar.
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Many times these people break the law and fly under the radar with ease, unfortunately.
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The Steelers have flown under the radar so far this season.
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So how come you've been flying under the radar these days?
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It was small enough to fly under the radar and not attract attention.
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Beane: Yeah, it was my most enjoyable year because we were able to fly under the radar.
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Two games into the 2012 season, the former Maplewood standout has flown under the radar.
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The humble Manning likes flying under the radar, and won't say anything to garner attention.
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Synonyms
36
3.9
Act quietly so people do not notice you
14
5.6
To stay out of sight to avoid trouble
11
3.8
To go past quickly without anyone noticing, as with time or chances
3
5.2
To be easy to see but not noticed by others
1
6.3
To go unnoticed by people or officials
Antonyms
How Hidden
- Informal
9
5.9
36
3.9
- Informal
3
5.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase maps a literal scenario (an aircraft flying below a radar’s detection) onto the abstract idea of avoiding notice, so the constituent meanings (fly + under + radar) do give a plausible clue. However, the metaphor requires world knowledge of what radar does and a figurative inference that may not be immediately obvious to an average B1 learner, so it is not fully compositional or predictable.
Etymology
The idiom fly under the radar may come from the image of an airplane that flies so low it goes under a ship's radar and is not seen. That's why the phrase means 'to avoid being noticed'.