underground

Related to underground: Underground hip hop

go underground

1. To conceal oneself in a hidden place or at a hidden location so as to avoid discovery or detection, especially by figures of authority. Many political dissidents have gone underground now that the government has begun its violent crackdown on opposing parties. The agent had to go underground after his cover was blown.
2. To operate or function without being detected by someone or something, especially a body or figures of authority. The distributors of the pro-socialist pamphlets seem to have gone underground ever since they started attracting the attention of the feds.
See also: go, underground

underground railroad

1. capitalized An organized network of secret workers, routes, and safe houses used to ferry escaped African-American slaves to free states or present-day Canada. A former slave herself, Harriet Tubman was an instrumental figure in the Underground Railroad, saving roughly 70 people from slavery over the course of 13 rescue missions.
2. By extension, any network of people working together secretly to help fugitives escape to places of safety and freedom. The human rights organization has begun operating an underground railroad in the third-world country to help human trafficking victims escape from bondage. A former slave herself, Harriet Tubman was an instrumental figure in the Underground Railroad
See also: railroad, underground
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

underground railroad

A secret network for moving and housing fugitives, as in There's definitely an underground railroad helping women escape abusive husbands. This term, dating from the first half of the 1800s, alludes to the network that secretly transported runaway slaves through the northern states to Canada. It was revived more than a century later for similar escape routes.
See also: railroad, underground
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

go underground

in. to go into hiding; to begin to operate in secret. The entire operation went underground, and we heard no more about it.
See also: go, underground
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • go underground
  • have a hidden talent
  • hidden
  • talent
  • lay low and sing small
  • lie
  • lie low
  • lie low and sing small
  • lie low, to
  • disappear into the woodwork
References in periodicals archive
Teachers often have students first learn to dowse the easily perceived electrical energies associated with moving water, then have the students use their developing skills to sense weaker energies from underground electric cables or metal rebar.
Home diagnosis the old fashioned way Lee Barnes shares the science and mystery of the ancient art of dowsing
The plan of operations also includes approval to place the resulting waste rock at surface, construct and operate settling ponds and a land disposal system for underground seepage waters and build any necessary facilities for below-surface excavation.
Constantine Metal Resources targets June 2020 to begin underground exploration at Palmer
Sabrina proposed that the government first amend the Forestry Act to ban logging altogether, to conserve forests and ensure water supply, instead of digging for underground water.
Environmentalists against tapping underground water resources, warn of dire consequences
While the bins go deep underground, only small intake columns are visible on the surface.
Massive underground bins for old Nicosia
"Despite 'Underground' being a terrific and important series, it no longer fits with our new direction and we have reached the difficult decision not to renew it for a third season," (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/05/31/underground-was-a-hit-for-wgn-america-heres-why-it-got-canceled/?utm_term=.3ccd7be34ec3) he said.
John Legend Vows To Find New Home For 'Underground'
The demand underground mining equipment is growing at a steady pace with increasing demand for coal, metal and minerals with rising population.
Global Underground Mining Equipment Market to Reach US$ 30.5 Bn by 2023: Credence Research
This work uses Richard Wright, KRS-One, Thelonius Monk, and the tradition of the Underground Railroad to explore the manifestations and the attributes of the underground (a multifaceted concept in African American culture) within the context of a more panoramic picture of African American expressivity within hip-hop.
Peterson, James Braxton. The Hip-Hop Underground and African American Culture Beneath the Surface
Sounds of the Underground: A Cultural, Political, and Aesthetic Mapping of Underground and Fringe Music
Sounds of the Underground: A Cultural, Political, and Aesthetic Mapping of Underground and Fringe Music
AMERICAN UNDERGROUND, A CAMPUS THAT HOUSES small businesses and accelerators throughout Durham and Raleigh, North Carolina, established a bold goal to build the most diverse startup hub in the country.
Raleigh-Durham is the startup capital of the South: Google Tech Hub leads nation in funding, jobs, and minority-led businesses
The title of the event, Reducing Cost of Construction Underground Transmission Lines, is obviously an extremely important subject for the underground utility construction market.
Seeking solutions for undergrounding electric transmission
The EPA has awarded $465,000 to the Navajo Nation to oversee the cleanup of an estimated 58 leaking underground storage tanks that store petroleum or hazardous substances throughout the reservation.
Epa awards $785,000 to Navajo nation for cleanup of leaking storage tanks
Code Masr, a band which was formed by a group of university students in 2011, performs in Cairo Underground Festival in June.
Underground musicians rise to the limelight
With the underground cadastre that has recently started operating, records will be kept of the entire underground network and damages occurring in the course of construction works will be avoided.
Underground cadastre begins operations