1. It turns out that Mrs. Banks committed the crime. Apparently, she and the victim had been in a relationship together in high school. He became disenfranchised with her after she repeatedly stalked him at school and he. subseQuently, ended the relationship. Years later, he got married but she, apparently, held on to some kind of twisted hope that they would get back together. Once she found him unwilling to leave his wife, she shot him. I guess that old .......... die hard, Police Inspector Jones said to the chief.

2. Don't get discouraged, Son. Of course Mr. Weatherby is superior at refinishing tables compared to you. He's an old .......... at this and has been working the trade for thirty years, his father told him.

3. Due to a trend in consumers pursuing homeopathic cures for ailments, some doctors are researching the validity of old .......... tales in the hope that some of them may be marketable as cures or treatments.

4. He knew there was a chance of losing by attempting a Fool's Mate on his opponent in chess. He decided to try it. It was the oldest trick in the .......... but it had still worked on many past opponents.

5. He wished he knew all of the .......... of the trade that plumbers knew. Many a time, he had been baffled by a problem and called a plumber in just to watch him or her insert a small gasket or apply a piece of tape to a pipe that would achieve the desired result. Even he could do that much.

6. Don't answer the police's question, Mark. They are hoping that you will divulge some information by falling into one of the verbal traps they set for you. They don't actually know anything about who committed the crime — they are just on a .......... expedition," his lawyer told him.

7. He had settled the last four cases out of court by intimidating the defendants with all kinds of legal maneuvers and threats. He had another chance to settle a case coming up this afternoon. He felt that he was on a

8. The defendant's attorney had unwittingly given the District Attorney's office the case on a silver .......... by divulging a fact, in passing, that turned out to be the missing piece of the puzzle in regard to how the crime was committed.

9. The prostrate ex-head of accounting, after long hours of drinking, crawled on all .......... into the boss' office to beg for forgiveness and his old position back.

10. It was a bitter divorce and a tumultuous marriage — for sure. To be honest, I don't know why we are on good .......... now. We are able to work things out in a civil manner and actually listen to each other, Jack said to Tina.