under the radar

under the radar

Variants | Synonyms

• off the radar
• below the radar
• beneath the radar
• above the radar

Meaning

• going unnoticed, avoiding unnecessary attention
• another way to say underground, often alluding to something that is yet to be found
• to do something secretly
• without drawing attention
• in an secretive or undetected way

Example Sentences

1. They managed to stay under the radar for years, after stealing all that money from their friends.
2. Prior to the album Trilogy, songs by the TheWeeknd, was pretty much under the radar.
3. Jackson didn't want his boss to find out he was searching for another job, so, he did everything under the radar.
4. After the successful carrier of a decade – why the band is staying under the radar now?
5. He is very intelligent officer – criminals can't fly above his radar.
6. How such a serious error can be slipped under the radar of the inspectors?
7. We finally married last month after going many years off the radar.
8. I haven't seen my close friend since 3 months – he is going off the radar.
9. The Taliban is still trying to run terrorism beneath the radar.
10. The intelligence agencies revealed the place where criminals stayed below the radar.

Origin

The actual origin of this phrase is from after World War II. In the war, radar was first used to detect incoming fighter and bomber jets. Due to interference with radio waves by the ground, planes that flew low could not be detected by radar. So those planes that could not be detected were said to have flown under the radar. This expression was used in telling tales of the fighter jets used during the war. Even subsequent wars, soldiers who camouflaged by blending in with the trees, grasses, rocks and other such objects in their environment where said to have been under the radar. Over the years, the expression then caught on, and can be seen in literary pieces and music.