English

Verb

break the mold

1. (idiomatic) To depart from a traditional pattern; to defy convention.
   • 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".

2. (idiomatic) To make it impossible for an identical copy to be made.
   • 2001, Adam Troy Castro, Spiderman: 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.