Think outside the box

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Grammarist

To think outside the box means to think beyond conventional ideas, to think in an original way. Related terms are thinks outside the box, thought outside the box, thinking outside the box, the adjective form is out-of-the-box thinking. The phrase originated in the United States during the late 1960s or early 1970s in the field of management consultancy. Metaphorically, the box in the phrase think outside the box represents old and hackneyed ways of addressing a problem.

Examples

Fender Custom Shop thinks outside the box with cardboard Stratocaster guitar (The Oceanside Post)

Long before the term was coined, great minds thought outside the box and made contributions. (The Huffington Post)

Structured curriculums, graduation requirements and state assessments often keep students and teachers from finding time during the day to go outside the box to explore areas of personal interest that can be just as important in the educational process. (The Hastings Tribune)

By thinking outside the box — or in this case the pallet — the duo has helped to earn Knox Grammar School a prestigious nod in the $20 Boss Awards. (The Daily Telegraph)

When it comes to holiday shopping, the Attleboro Arts Museum says think outside the box – the big box store, that is. (The Sun Chronicle)

Here’s a look at some of the best box sets of the season, and some outside-the-box gift ideas for the movie lovers on your list. (The Greensboro News & Record)

Encourage employees to think like upstarts, who develop ideas outside the box, not just as members of a successful organisation, he added, as history has shown how such organisations have had “their meal taken away from them by new players”. (The Straits Times)