like clockwork

1. Also, regular as clockwork. With extreme regularity, as in Ruth arrives every Wednesday morning just like clockwork, or You can count on his schedule, which is regular as clockwork, or Their assembly line runs like clockwork. This idiom alludes to the mechanical and therefore very regular action of a clock. [Second half of 1600s]

Example Sentences

The retired cop, the newlyweds, the sword enthusiast — they return every school year like clockwork.

From Salon

In 2005, the butter-wouldn’t-melt Gibson finally agreed to pose nude for Playboy, which had “called us like clockwork about every two years or so” since her 18th birthday.

From Los Angeles Times

In other words, earthquakes didn’t seem to re-occur like clockwork, rupturing the same stretch of fault in a repeatable, predictable pattern.

From Los Angeles Times

Wiegman's rotations arrived like clockwork in 2022 - midway through the second half, no matter the score, and always made a difference.

From BBC

To most people, the nation’s vaccine system feels like a solid, reliable fact of life, doling out shots to children like clockwork.

From Salon