in the ordinary course of things

As things typically unfold, take place, or happen. In the ordinary course of things, we would have arranged for a follow-up interview to take place right away, but things were so chaotic that it never happened. Profits are going to be down this quarter, since, in the ordinary course of things, site traffic slows down over the summer months. The holidays are nearly here—doesn't everyone feel increasingly stressed in the ordinary course of things?

in the ordinary, normal, etc. course of eˈvents, ˈthings, etc.

as things usually happen: In the normal course of events we would not treat her disappearance as suspicious.