(informal, figuratively) to go around in circles, to tread water, to go nowhere fast, to flounder

(figuratively) a drop in the ocean, a drop in the bucket

(figuratively) to talk under one's breath, to mutter, to mumble

(transitive, informal, figuratively) to get on someone's good side, to get someone to like oneself; to twist someone around one's little finger

secondly, afterwards, then

up to a point, to some extent, to an extent

(figuratively) to live under a rock

(transitive, figuratively) to drag through the mud

(informal, figuratively) to have one's head in the clouds

(informal, figuratively) to go through someone's mind, to go through someone's head, to run through someone's mind, to keep running through someone's mind