coloring outside the lines
Ignoring the boundaries
Coloring outside the lines means ignoring conventional boundaries or expectations, drawn from children's coloring books where staying within printed outlines is considered proper technique.
The phrase usually carries positive connotations of creativity and independent thinking: She built her career by coloring outside the lines.
Sometimes used disapprovingly for rule-breaking: He's always coloring outside the lines at work.
- defianceOpen resistance to authority
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- adventureRisky exciting undertaking
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
breaking the rules · originality · self-expression · boldness · iconoclasm · uniqueness · artistry · improvisation · maverick · unorthodoxy · liberation · eccentricity · exploration · ingenuity · counterculture · authenticity · free spirit · wild child
coloring outside the linestoeing the line
Adhering to expectations
coloring inside the lines · conforming · falling in line · conformity · orthodoxy
coloring outside the linespainting by numbers
Pre-outlined coloring activity
boilerplate · going through the motions · unoriginal · by-the-numbers · predictable
colors, colored, coloring, colorful, colorless, coloration, discolor, discolored, multicolored