outside the box

The “nine dots” puzzle. The task is to draw a connected path through all nine dots using only 4 straight lines. Many people try to solve it using an additional, unstated constraint that the lines cannot extend beyond the limits of the outer eight dots (“the box”).

Meaning

Prepositional phrase

Origin

  • Probably from the need to draw lines outside the perimeter of the nine dots in the “nine dots” puzzle. See the 1971 citation.

Modern English dictionary

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