fly under the radar
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To go unnoticed or avoid attention
Literally: an aircraft flying low to avoid detection
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The new policy flew under the radar until it was too late to change it
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “fly under the radar” mean?
To go unnoticed or avoid attention Literally: an aircraft flying low to avoid detection
Is “fly under the radar” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.