clockwork
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(as) regular as clockwork
1. Occurring at consistent, predictable intervals or points in time. One thing I loved about living in Germany was that the trains were always regular as clockwork. Every evening at 8 PM, as regular as clockwork, my dad sits in his armchair and reads the newspaper for exactly 45 minutes.
2. slang To have reliable, healthy bowel movements. I've been as regular as clockwork every since I started eating a healthier balance of protein, fiber, and carbohydrates. Drinking all of this prune juice keeps me regular as clockwork!
be as regular as clockwork
To happen at predictable intervals. My daughter starts crying every night at bedtime—it's as regular as clockwork.
go like clockwork
To proceed, progress, or operate predictably and dependably. Everything is going like clockwork, so we should be ready to start construction by the end of the month. The conference went like clockwork from beginning to end.
like clockwork
Predictably and dependably. Everything is going like clockwork, so we should be ready to start construction by the end of the month. The conference went like clockwork from beginning to end.
run like clockwork
1. To proceed, progress, or operate smoothly, predictably, and according to plan. Everything is running like clockwork, so we should be ready to start construction by the end of the month. The conference ran like clockwork from beginning to end.
2. To operate, manage, control, or direct something in a very smooth, efficient, reliable manner. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "run" and "like clockwork." The new manager they hired has been running this branch like clockwork. I intend to run this festival like clockwork, so I'm trying to plan for any and all eventualities.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
go like clockwork
Fig. to progress with regularity and dependability. The building project is progressing nicely. Everything is going like clockwork. The elaborate pageant was a great success. It went like clockwork from start to finish.
*regular as clockwork
Cliché very regular; completely predictable. (*Also: as ~.) George goes down to the bus stop at 7:45 every morning, as regular as clockwork. You can always depend on Nancy to complain about the office for fifteen minutes every afternoon, regular as clockwork.
run like clockwork
to run very well; to progress very well. I want this office to run like clockwork—with everything on time and everything done right. The plans for the party were made and we knew that we could depend on Alice to make sure that everything ran like clockwork.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
like clockwork
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]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
like clockwork
COMMON
1. If something goes or runs like clockwork, it works very well and happens in exactly the way it is expected to. The journey there went like clockwork — flying out on Friday from Gatwick it took seven hours door-to-door. He soon had the household running like clockwork.
2. If someone does something like clockwork, they do it regularly, always at the same time. They would arrive like clockwork just before dawn. Every day at 3:00, like clockwork, he comes in here for a cup of coffee. Note: You can also say that someone does something, or that something happens, regular as clockwork. Every three years, regular as clockwork, the great Anne Tyler produces a new novel.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
like clockwork
1 very smoothly and easily, with no disruptions or problems. 2 with mechanical regularity.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
go/run like ˈclockwork
(of arrangements, etc.) happen according to plan, without any difficulty or trouble: The sports day went like clockwork, with every race starting and finishing on time.(as) regular as ˈclockwork
very regularly; happening at the same time in the same way; reliable: She arrives at work on her bicycle at 8.45 every day, as regular as clockwork.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
like clockwork
With machinelike regularity and precision; perfectly: The project proceeded like clockwork.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
run like clockwork, to
To operate with extreme regularity. The transfer from a clock mechanism to other areas dates from the late seventeenth century. “The king’s last years passed as regularly as clockwork,” wrote Hugh Walpole (Reminiscences, 1789).
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer