IdiomThe Absurd
English
Englishthink outside the box
Meaning: To find an unconventional solution.
Example: “They thought outside the box and turned the empty pool into a skate park.”
Origin: From the nine-dot puzzle used in management training, which can only be solved by drawing lines beyond the square the dots suggest. The phrase spread in business English from the 1970s and 1980s.
Equivalents in other languages
German: um die Ecke denken Literally: To think around the corner
More English idioms
- not get off the ground To fail to make any progress at all.
- green with envy Extremely jealous.
- do nothing by halves To commit fully to whatever one does.
- keep someone on a short leash To keep someone under close control.
- not for all the tea in China Under no circumstances.
- shut someone up To force someone to stop talking.
Explore another collection: Compliments & Insults
Compliments and insults from around the world, from the sweet to the savage.
- Avoir un poil dans la main To be incurably lazy.
- Tête de linotte A scatterbrain who can't hold a thought.
- Courir sur le haricot To get badly on someone's nerves.
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