percolate through

percolate through (something)

To pass through something that is not entirely solid, such as a mesh or porous material. The wind ripped the shingles off the roof, allowing the rain to percolate through it.
See also: percolate, through
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

percolate through something

[for a liquid] to seep down through something. The water percolated through the coffee grounds too slowly for Fred, who was just dying for a hot cup of the stuff. The water percolated through the subsoil and appeared again at the bottom of the hill.
See also: percolate, through
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • percolate
  • percolate through (something)
  • permeate through
  • permeate through (something)
  • jibe
  • jibe with
  • jibe with (something)
  • fall off the roof
  • crying over spilled milk, it's no good/use
  • rip into
References in classic literature
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes; and like a child, crying, that forgets its grief in watching the sunlight percolate through the tear-dimmed films over the pupils, so Martin forgot his sickness, the presence of Ruth, everything, in watching the masses of vegetation, shot through hotly with sunshine that took form and blazed against this background of his eyelids.
Martin Eden
If ice is regarded as a random mix of brine pockets and ice particles of equal size, the simple percolation model says sea ice should be at least 25 percent brine before salty water can percolate through it.
Mathematician on Ice
Then, she waits as the wastes percolate through the ground and into the sea.
Viruses--just a flush away?
If Hale-Bopp is indeed large, it may take a little time for jets of water vapor and the dust they carry to percolate through the comet's outer layers, Marsden speculates.
Heralding Hale-Bopp
A process used to avoid moving so much earth "seriously jeopardizes groundwater quality." USBM's technique for recovering gold from low-grade ore by allowing cyanide to percolate through rock, Lyon says, "causes environmental problems every year." Acknowledging such problems, a recent USBM pamphlet describes how new research on a leaching agent that substitutes for cyanide "may give gold-mining companies some new options."
Closing of bureau trims mining research
But salt deposits require water to percolate through rocks for millions of years, Christensen says.
Roving on the red planet: robots tell a tale of once-wet Mars
When the eyelid is closed, scintillating pin-pricks of light percolate through the lenses, creating magical luminous patterns and effects.
Eye do: a verdant forest landscape forms the backdrop for this ingenious little Japanese wedding chapel
Clearly inspired by events in the Middle East, the works by Dominic McGill and Siemon Allen that make up the recent show "Pop Agenda" use a pop-cultural idiom to offer a glimpse of how political, economic, and social issues get transformed as they percolate through mass media and culture.
Siemon Allen/Dominic McGill: Fusebox gallery
Asked about the economy and its impact on the 2002 congressional elections, Flannery said that "it must be strong by next spring for it to percolate through public discussion before election time."
CISA Meeting Examines Nation's Economy, Politics