![]() ![]() ![]() Like lightning he twisted and turned, scrambling over walls and through openings till he was sure he had shaken off the detective, then he crept quietly home to his shabby bed-sitter.įrom Leo Leonard, I Miss You When You're Here (1976):īesides, the oldest trick in the book is to point the finger of guilt at one of your own to take the heat off the real culprit.įrom Situation in Vietnam (supposedly dated 1959, but probably considerably later) : As Fallon turned his head, Jackson made a quick backwards dart and shot up a dark alley. It was the oldest trick in the book, but it worked. I can afford to trust you-my legs are twice as long as yours!" grinned Fallon. Here are a few other early candidates for the oldest trick in the book, drawn from a Google Books search. Not surprisingly, other books have other ideas about the oldest trick. ![]() That, according to James Clavell, is "the oldest trick in the book." ![]() It's the act of getting up as if to leave, as an indication that the question the character had just asked didn't matter much to him and that he didn't mind not getting an answer. The "trump" referred to here isn't a play in an actual card game. Maybe Larkin and I'll drop around tonight." Just interested,” he said and played his trump. Then he remembered the advice of the King. It occurs in James Clavell, King Rat (1962) : The earliest instance of "the oldest trick in the book" that a Google Books search finds isn't very old. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |