by-numbers

adjective

1. informal,  done in an uninspired, simplistic, or formulaic way

Word History and Origins

Origin of by-numbers¹

C20: from painting by numbers , a method of painting a picture in which the colours to be used are indicated by numbers

Example Sentences

While reviews were largely positive, The Quietus recoiled at the lack of heavy guitar anthems in a scathing screed that employed descriptors like "unintrusive", "clunking" and "by-numbers detritus".

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Speaking in 2018 with the actor Brian Tyree Henry, of the FX series “Atlanta,” he upended what might have been a by-numbers exchange by asking how Henry ordered his hash browns.

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But the list of scares for Sean Dyche’s side, looking a by-numbers version of their redoubtable selves in torrential conditions, extended no further and they had one more sight of their own when Holding blocked a meaty Rodriguez volley.

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Moore is right: that would be a tediously by-numbers film.

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But this I do know: You have a first-class education from a first-class school, and so you need not, probably cannot live a paint- by-numbers life.

Read more on Seattle Times