true to form

9 4.1

Happening or acting in the usual way as before

idiom

Informal

: fiel a su forma

True to form, he always arrives late to the meetings.
run true to form
stay true to form
take true to form

You will change what you're doing that many times if things stay true to form.

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Examples

True to form, he took something different from the experience than most big-firm associates do.

Academic text (2001)
But if things ran true to form, he wouldn't notice.

Fiction book (1999)
At least the man is running true to form.

Fatal Attraction (1987)
"The horse ran absolutely true to form," I explained.

Fiction book (1990)
If he stands true to form, he will have an excellent season.

Blog text (8)
True to form, we never talked about not talking.

Big Fish (2003)
But true to form, there is even a little dark cloud on the horizon.

Academic text (2001)
Of course, true to form for any AA movement, acceptance of these new ideas was not easy or immediate.

Academic text (1997)
"True to form, Adamu's response was direct and to the point."

Academic text (2004)
And indeed, true to form, this is exactly what Rob Poulton gave to him.

Blog text (17)

Synonyms

typically

vstrue to form

426 2.2

In the usual way for a person, thing, or group

is about behaving as past experience predicts for that situation

consistently

vstrue to form

278 2.8

In the same way over time without big changes

is about behaving as past experience shows not necessarily always identical

Antonyms

unexpected

392 2.5

Happening without warning

uncharacteristic

14 5.4

Not usual for a person or thing

How Typical

true to form

Informal

9 4.1

typical

843 1.0

out of character

22 4.2

unusual

∞ 2.2

Surface Forms

true to form positive

Morphology

true + to + form

The meaning 'behaving as usual/expected' is partially recoverable because 'true' (consistent/faithful) combined with 'form' (pattern/type) suggests being consistent with a pattern. However, the abstract use of 'form' and the fixed phrasing 'true to form' is idiomatic enough that a B1 learner who simply knows the constituent words may not predict the exact pragmatic sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

True to form may come from the image of clay pressed into a form so it comes out exactly true to that shape. So, when someone is true to form, they behave 'as expected' or in their usual way.