Oldest Tricks in the Book

“How’d the guy get in?”
    “He stood on a commode in the men’s room and no one saw him at closing.”
    Ruth waved her hand in disgust.  “That’s one of the oldest tricks on the books.”
—Jo Dereske, Miss Zukas and the Library Murders (1994)

The oldest trick in the world
is the squeal of an infant
—Anonymous, “Sweet Relief,” Adventus Christi (1972)

“Sss . . . snake!” George screamed.  God, thought Harry, one of Preacher’s snakes has escaped.  Harry jerked his head for a look.  And George stepped in and knocked him on his ass and kicked him full in the chest. . . . Goddam, [Harry] thought, I fell for the oldest trick in the book.
—Joe R. Lansdale, “The Pit,” The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action (2001)

“Do you think this is just some sort of smoke screen?”
    “Oldest trick in the book,” said Ed.
—Leslie Meier, Father’s Day Murder (2004)

Hypnotized by a smile?  Oldest trick in the book!
—Poppy Z. Brite, Lost Souls (1993)

—Scott Turow, Ordinary Heroes (2005)

Samson:  The oldest trick in the world.  Silk trap, baited with a woman.
Delilah:  You know a better bait, Samson?  Men always respond.
—Samson and Delilah (1949)

Silence always guaranteed a reputation for wisdom, it was the oldest trick in the world.
—W.D. Wetherell, The Wisest Man in America (1996)

“Yes, the husband has come home unexpectedly,” he said.  “Oldest trick in the book.”
—Steve Hamilton, North of Nowhere (2003)

—Jerry A. Grunor, Life is Sweet and Bittersweet (2005)

When a place seems worn out—when everything’s dusty and there’s only one horse to get to the end of town on and it’s lame—the oldest trick in the book is to show it to someone new.
—Gloria Frym, Distance No Object (1999)

I reached most of my goals, but I didn’t do it in a conventional way.  I did it using the oldest trick in the book.  Sex.
—Karrine Steffans, Confessions of a Video Vixen (2005)

It’s a set-up, oldest trick in the book.
—Ian Rankin, The Hanging Garden (1999)

He had fallen for the oldest trick in the book: being seduced by a pretty face.
—Kathryn Harvey, Private Entrance (2005)

Oldest trick in the book—keep them sedated so they’re easier to handle.
—Eileen Goudge, Wish Come True (2004)

Then, in desperation, the captain scooped up a handful of sand and flung it at 
his enemy.  The oldest trick in the book.
—Thomas M. Reid, Forged (2003)

Damn roses!  Oldest trick in the book.
—Nancy Bartholomew, Film Strip (2001)

In Whispering Lodge (2005), Sabrina Noble calls "reverse psychology" the oldest trick in the book.

Resorting to evidence, eh?  The oldest trick in the book.
—Youth Specialties, “Tarzan,” Drama, Skits and Sketches (1997)

Resistance outwits the amateur with the oldest trick in the book: It uses his own enthusiasm against him.
—Steven Pressfield, The War of Art (2003)