NATHAN DETROIT QUOTE, "IF A GUY ..." T-Shirt

Nathan Detroit was a character created by the writer Damon Runyon.The adjective "Runyon- esque" refers to this type of character as well as to the type of situations and dialogue that Runyon depicted. He spun humourous tales of gamblers, hustlers, actors, and gangsters, few of whom go by "square" names, preferring instead colourful monikers such as "Nathan Detroit," "Benny Southstreet," "Big Jule," "Harry the Horse," "Good Time Charley," "Dave the Dude," or "The Seldom Seen Kid." Runyon wrote these stories in a distinctive vernacular style: a mixture of formal speech and colourful slang, almost always in present tense, and always devoid of contractions.