colouring outside the lines
Ignoring the boundaries
Colouring outside the lines means doing things unconventionally or ignoring established rules and boundaries.
The image is of a child's drawing that disregards the printed outlines in a colouring book.
Usually positive—suggesting creativity, independence, or fresh thinking: She built her career by colouring outside the lines.
Sometimes implies recklessness or disregard for necessary constraints.
- defianceOpen resistance to authority
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- unconventionalityDeparture from accepted standards
- self-expressionConveying one's inner world
- boldnessFearless readiness to act
breaking the rules · originality · autonomy · authenticity · free spirit · adventure · maverick · wild child · artistry · coloring book · iconoclasm · curiosity · independence · trailblazing · inventiveness · counterculture · ingenuity · uniqueness
colouring outside the linesconforming
Meeting accepted standards
toeing the line · colouring inside the lines · falling in line · playing it safe · staying in one's lane
colouring outside the linesprecision
Accuracy of measurement
meticulousness · exactitude · neat and tidy · by the book · attention to detail
colour, coloured, colored, colours, colors, colourful, colorful, colouration, coloration