Bend The Rules Meaning

(idiomatic, US) To do something that is not normally allowed but is also not explicitly prohibited.

Example: 2008, Robert A. Hinde, Bending the Rules: The Flexibility of Absolutes in Modern Life, ISBN 0191578738:
  Such a mechanism could preserve individuals with mainly prosocial inclinations by enabling them to bend the rules in minor ways without suffering from guilt and without losing out in competition with free-riders.