Like clockwork and as regular as clockwork are different renditions of the same idiom. We will examine the meaning of the expressions like clockwork and as regular as clockwork, where these terms came from and some examples of their use in sentences.
Like clockwork and as regular as clockwork describe something that happens over and over again in a predictable pattern, something that you may depend upon to happen, something that is precise or occurs exactly as expected. Like clockwork is a simile that is sometimes used when describing the execution of a plan in a perfect fashion, without any unforeseen problems. As regular as clockwork is a simile that is sometimes used when describing something predictable and dependable. However, the two phrases are fairly interchangeable. A simile is a phrase used in a sentence that is a comparison of one thing with something else using the word like or the word as. A simile may compare two things with qualities that do not seem related, though there must be some similarity that is either literal or figurative. The word clockwork to mean the inner workings of a mechanism came into use with the invention of mechanical clocks. The idioms like clockwork and as regular as clockwork came into use in the mid-1700s.
Examples
In the end, like clockwork, Benjamin Netanyahu comes on stage to tumultuous cheers, flush with victory and driven by revenge, and kisses his wife Sara. (Haaretz)
Since her eponymous debut album was released in 2006, Swift has released a new album almost every two years, pretty much like clockwork. (The Observer)He has famously become interchangeable with Mateo Kovacic – the 60–minute Sarri switcheroo as regular as clockwork – and the style the Chelsea manager insists upon appears to limit what Barkley does best. (The Daily Mail)
As regular as clockwork, the early summer launch of the next OnePlus handset approaches. (Forbes Magazine)