like clockwork

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

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.

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

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

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