clockworkyadj.
/ˈklɒkwəːki/, U.S. /ˈklɑkˌwərki/ Resembling, suggesting, or of the nature of clockwork; mechanical, routine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [adjective] > routine
routine1744
routinary1807
formal1818
routinish1830
jog-jog1837
clockworky1864
groove-like1902
the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adjective] > unintentional or involuntary > without intention > automatic or mechanical
mechanical1607
mechanized1740
automaton-like1770
automatic1821
clockworky1864
mechanicized1877
1864 H. James in Continental Monthly Feb. 211/2 If you've never lived in any but these damned clockworky European towns, you can't imagine the state of things in a South American seaport.
1978 Mag. Fantasy & Sci. Fiction May 88/1 The gang leader held his right upper arm out stiffly while the forearm pumped up and down with a clockworky motion, as if he were pounding an invisible desk with his fist.
2007 P. Marx Him, Her, Him again, End of Him vi. 97 [I] called his office three days a week at 2 p.m., varying the days so it wouldn't appear too clockworky.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1864