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break the mold

verb

Etymology

From the use of molds to make multiple replicas of solid objects using moldable materials.

Definitions

  1. To depart from a traditional pattern

    To depart from a traditional pattern; to defy convention.

    • A man has to be what he is, Joey. Can't break the mould. I tried it and it didn't work for me.
    • President Bush joined in; his 1991 education message called for new kinds of schools, ones that "broke the mold".
    • Middle-aged and scarred, a Mexican journalist is breaking the mold of social media influencers with a message of pure positivity that resonates in dark times.

  2. To make it impossible for an identical copy to be made.

    • When they made that one, they broke the mold.
    • When God made her, He broke the mold.
    • When they made him, they broke the mold. lt was a cliche that had been spoken about any number of men, for any number of different reasons.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for break the mold. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA