This phony good Samaritan scenario is the oldest trick in the book.
—John Perkins, Attack Proof (2000)

You only think you look bad or your product failed, if you fall for the oldest 
trick in the book: good cop, bad cop.
—Douglas H. Ruben, Publicity for Mental Health Clinicians (1995)

This “good-guy-bad-guy” ploy is one of the oldest tricks in the book.
—Andrew James McLean and Gary W. Eldred, Investing in Real Estate (2005)

little stars above us
signals in the night
memories of places we once knew

have we got your message
did we hear it right, we
view our world so differently than you

The “get them drunk and butcher the lot of them” stratagem was the oldest trick in the book, or would have been if barbarians bothered with books.
—Terry Pratchett, Interesting Times (1994)

From Jonathan Caws-Elwitt:

At work we saw an ad in the paper for an "Open House" at a naturist (i.e. "nudist") camp in this area. One of my co-workers, scanning the items on the program, remarked "Oh, it includes a pancake breakfast."

"Things could get sticky," I quipped.

Literary humorist Jonathan Caws-Elwitt's plays, stories, essays, letters, parodies, wordplay, witticisms and miscellaneous tomfoolery can be found at Monkeys 1, Typewriters 0. Here you'll encounter frivolous, urbane writings about symbolic yams, pigs in bikinis, donut costumes, vacationing pikas, nonexistent movies, cross-continental peppermills, and other compelling subjects.

Framing somebody to start a war.  Oldest trick in the book.
—Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2005)

[S]he walked out of the studio one day, just like that.  Pfft.”  He made a little gesture with his hands.  —Robert Rodi, Kept Boy.

The oldest trick for getting people together is to offer to feed them.
—Wayne Erbsen, Old Time Gospel Songbook (1993)

Born helpless, nude and unable to provide for himself, Lore Sjöberg eventually overcame these handicaps to become a handyman, a handicapper and a handmaiden.

Flimflammed.  Hornswoggled.  The oldest trick in the book.
—Barbara Croft, Moon’s Crossing (2003)

Reader Comments:

Jonathan wrote:

Dear Ms. Croft:

I was recently flimflammed, or possibly hornswoggled.  I'm okay with this; but what concerns me is that I don't know the difference.  Are there guidelines that you can furnish that will allow me, in future, to approach flimflamming and hornswoggling interactions with a better ability to distinguish the two?

bamboozled,
jc-e

Flattery: It’s the oldest trick in the book.  And on most people, it works.
—Wilma Davidson, Most Likely to Succeed at Work (2003)

“Must have made a fortune on that fire.”
“Oldest trick in the bag,” Captain Chase said.
—Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe’s Trafalgar (2002)