by the numbers

短语

机械地, 一板一眼地

发音

AU

别名

by numbers by-the-numbers

释义与例句

phr.
  1. 1.

    exactly, precisely, or in a formulaic way.

    习语

词源

The origin of this phrase goes back to the American Revolutionary War where a book containing numbered positions for rifle and bayonet practice was used to train soldiers. In the book, each diagram was numbered.

来源：wiktionary