run to form

Idioms  

1. Also, run true to form. Act as one expects, especially in keeping with previous behavior. For example, She ran to form, arriving an hour late, or The door-to-door campaign was running true to form, with solicitors always arriving at dinnertime. This term originally was used for race horses running as expected from their previous record; it was transferred to human behavior in the late 1800s.

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Example Sentences

"You might say the opposition isn't a good level but what I'm seeing from him is working really hard to get on ball and his ability to step and pass, never mind his left-foot kick and previous experience on a Lions tour. I think he has timed his run to form really well."

From BBC

In the show, Springsteen meshes songs with tidbits from his 2016 memoir, “Born to Run,” to form an emotional map leading the audience on his journey from working-class youth in Freehold, N.J., to super stardom.

From Los Angeles Times

The high quality tournament has generally run to form so far but Germany coach Joachim Loew, whose side beat Greece 4-2 in Friday's last-eight tie, did receive one unwanted shock when his lineup was leaked to the media hours before kick off.

From Reuters

In 2005, 14 months after seven members of the class of 1969 criticized compensation in a letter to then- President Lawrence Summers, endowment chief Jack Meyer quit, ending a 15-year run, to form Convexity.

From BusinessWeek

But the last Liberal convention in 1919 showed that favorites do not always run to form when the grind of uninterrupted balloting begins.

From Time Magazine Archive