What does "lateral thinking" mean?

The use of reasoned thought in a nonstandard, or nonlinear logical way to find a solution to a problem.

Lateral thinking

Common synonyms include: creative, creative thinking, creativity, innovative, innovative thinking, nonlinear thinking.

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The use of reasoned thought in a nonstandard, or nonlinear logical way to find a solution to a problem. uncountable
2
a heuristic for solving problems; you try to look at the problem from many angles instead of tackling it head-on wordnet

Coined by Edward de Bono in 1967.