不守绳墨bù shǒu shéng mò

not observe the usual conventions
❍ 鹗字铁云，江苏丹徒人，少精算学，能读书，而放旷～，后忽自悔，闭户岁余，乃行医于上海，旋又弃而学贾，尽丧其资。(鲁迅《中国小说史略》260) Liu Ngo or Liu Tieyun was native of Dantu in Jiangsu. He was a good mathematician as a youth,and well-read,but too much of a liberal to observe the usual con ventions. Later he regretted his display of eccentricity and stayed at home to study for more than a year,after which he became a physician in Shanghai. Then he gave up medicine and went into business,only to lose all his capital.