tricks of the trade

Idioms  

1. Clever ways of operating a business or performing a task or activity, especially slightly dishonest or unfair ones. For example, Alma knows all the tricks of the trade, cutting the fabric as close as possible, or The butcher weighs meat after it's wrapped; charging for the packaging is one of the tricks of the trade.

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Example Sentences

Moneyist Facebook Group members shared some of their own tricks of the trade.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 7, 2026

Finding what’s unwritten, tricks of the trade, and the view of the constantly changing competitive landscape will create new winners.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

As a therapist herself, working in the same shared office space as her own analyst, Linda knows all of the tricks of the trade and also what defines a good and bad practitioner.

From Salon • Oct. 24, 2025

"I succeeded because I grasped the psychology of the buyer and the tricks of the trade," he said in the same interview.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2024

It felt like hopping from stone to stone, picking up tricks of the trade along the way, leveling up on his way to the final battle.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway