underaction
noun/ˌʌndəɹˈækʃən/
Etymology From under- + action.
1
Obsolete subplot; a minor event incidental or subsidiary to the main story.
- The least and most trivial episodes or underactions […] are parts necessary or convenient to carry on the main design.1697, Virgil, “Dedication to Virgil's Aeneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page [151]:
2
Inefficient action.