What it means
Submarining is when someone who ghosted you completely vanishes for weeks or months, then suddenly resurfaces with a breezy text as if nothing ever happened, no apology, no explanation. They pop up like a submarine surfacing, expecting to carry on right where you left off. It leaves you whiplashed and usually annoyed.
Usage examples
"He ghosted me for two months then went submarining with a casual hey, what's up."
"Classic submarining, vanishes without a word and resurfaces like we spoke yesterday."
"She pulled a full submarining move and texted me hey stranger after disappearing all summer."
"Nah, I'm not replying. That's submarining, and I'm not rewarding that nonsense."
Where it comes from
The term comes straight from the image of a submarine disappearing underwater, going radio silent, then suddenly popping back up. It took off in online dating talk in the late 2010s as a neat label for someone who ghosts, then resurfaces with a casual message like the whole disappearance was no big deal.
