color inside the lines

present singular third person colors inside the lines · participle present coloring inside the lines · participle past colored inside the lines · past colored inside the lines

1. intransitiveTo behave conventionally, to follow the rules.

   They told us to stay on the trail, but of course Bart never liked to color inside the lines.

   2009, Susan Meissner, White Picket Fences: A Novel, →ISBN, page 107

   2 more examples

   Too many don'ts had crimped their creativity and blocked out the wealth of dos. I admire the high standards embraced by my Christian students, but my heart also aches for those who have been raised to simply color inside the lines.

   2008, Craig Detweiler, A Purple State of Mind, →ISBN, page 55

   You see, she had already learned to color inside the lines, that is, be as quiet as she could and try to become invisible to simply blend into the wall until it was safe to come out.

   2006, Jane Johnson, Every Kick Ain't Down II, →ISBN, page 171