repeat oneself

Idioms and Phrases

Express oneself in the same way or with the same words, as in Grandma forgets she has told us this story before and repeats herself over and over , or This architect tends to repeat himself—all his houses look alike . A well-known version of this idiom is the proverb History repeats itself , first recorded (in English) in 1561. For example, Her mother also married when she was 18—history repeats itself . [Mid-1800s]