play by the rules

play by the rules (third-person singular simple present plays by the rules, present participle playing by the rules, simple past and past participle played by the rules)

1. to do what is expected.

   Synonym: play the game

   • 2025 June 20, Nick Levine, “'In every theatre, people would leave': How 'gay cowboy movie' Brokeback Mountain challenged Hollywood – and the US”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     Perhaps because it played by the rules while challenging them at the same time, Brokeback Mountain's place in film history is assured.

• “by the rules”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “play by the rules”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.