run in the family

present singular third person runs in the family · participle present running in the family · past ran in the family

1. derogatoryidiomaticmildlysometimesTo be a characteristic feature that is observed in several generations of a family.

   And business runs in the family / We tend to bruise easily bad in the blood

   2008, “Runs in the Family”, in Who Killed Amanda Palmer, performed by Amanda Palmer

   1 more example

   We could never understand why any man should choose the career of a chainsmith, except, possibly, for the reason that it ran in the family, for a more arduous and unpleasant manner of earning one's living could scarcely be imagined, unless it was the business of moulding permanent-way chairs in an iron foundry.

   1945 January and February, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—III”, in Railway Magazine, pages 13–14

   Synonyms: like father like son, the apple does not fall far from the tree