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 be successful on a modest scale, without yet being fully established
   • 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.