break the mold

English

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

break the mold (third-person singular simple present breaks the mold, present participle breaking the mold, simple past broke the mold, past participle broken the mold)

(figurative) To depart from a traditional pattern; to defy convention.
- 1953, A. B. Guthrie Jr., Jack Sher, Shane, spoken by Shane (Alan Ladd):
  A man has to be what he is, Joey. Can't break the mould. I tried it and it didn't work for me.
- 1997, Theodore R. Sizer, Horace's School: Redesigning the American High School, page 12:
  President Bush joined in; his 1991 education message called for new kinds of schools, ones that "broke the mold".
- 2021 November 26, Oscar Lopez, “‘Today’s Outfit Is Confidence’: Atypical TikTok Star Enchants Mexico”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:
  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.
To make it impossible for an identical copy to be made.
- 2001, Adam Troy Castro, Spider-Man: Revenge of the Sinister Six:
  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.

to depart from tradition