color outside the lines
Ignore prescribed limits
To color outside the lines is to deviate from conventional rules or expectations, often creatively.
The phrase comes from children's coloring books, where staying within printed outlines is considered proper technique.
Someone who colors outside the lines ignores established boundaries: She's always colored outside the lines—that's why her designs are so original.
The phrase can be approving (innovative, free-thinking) or disapproving (undisciplined, reckless), depending on context.
Authority defier
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
- unorthodoxContrary to accepted practice
- rule-breakingDisregarding established standards
- defianceOpen resistance to authority
iconoclasm · contrarian · bohemian · misfit · renegade · dissent · freethinker · boundary-pushing
Faculty for forming ideas
- innovationCreating something original
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- originalityNovel creative quality
- inventivenessCapacity for original creation
ingenuity · experimentation · improvisation · reinterpretation · flair · vision · inspiration · brainstorming
rebel
Authority defier
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
- unorthodoxContrary to accepted practice
- rule-breakingDisregarding established standards
defiance · iconoclasm · contrarian · bohemian · misfit · renegade · dissent · freethinker · boundary-pushing · trailblazing
imagination
Faculty for forming ideas
- innovationCreating something original
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- originalityNovel creative quality
inventiveness · ingenuity · experimentation · improvisation · reinterpretation · flair · vision · inspiration · brainstorming · artistry
- making troublemake waves, stir the pot, raise Cain, kick up a fuss, upset the apple cart
color outside the linesconform
Behave as expected
toe the line · fall in line · follow the rules · color inside the lines · paint by numbers
color, colors, colored, coloring, colorful, colorless, coloration, discolor, multicolor