bad excuse is better than none.

bad excuse is better than none.
A bad excuse is better than none.
Prov. If you offer some explanation for an unwanted action, there is a slight chance that it will be accepted and you will therefore not be in trouble, but if you have no explanation at all, you do not even have that slight chance. •

Fred: I can't believe we played cards till midnight! What will I tell my wife when she asks why I'm so late getting home? Bill: Tell her something came up at the office. Fred: But that's a lousy excuse. She'll never believe it. Bill: A bad excuse is better than none.


Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • a bad excuse is better than none — 1551 T. WILSON Rule of Reason S6 This is as thei saie in English, better a badde excuse, then none at all. 1579 S. GOSSON School of Abuse 24 A bad excuse is better, they say, then none at all. 1821 W. WIRT Letter 29 Aug. in J. P. Kennedy Memoirs… …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • bad — see a bad excuse is better than none bad money drives out good bad news travels fast a bad penny always turns up bad things come in threes there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • none — see a bad excuse is better than none there’s none so blind as those who will not see none but the brave deserve the fair there’s none so deaf as those who will not hear jack of all trades and master of none …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • excuse — see a bad excuse is better than none ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it he who excuses, accuses himself …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, Thematic Index — absence absence makes the heart grow fonder he who is absent is always in the wrong the best of friends must part blue are the hills that are far away distance lends enchantment to the view out of sight, out of mind …   Proverbs new dictionary

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  • China — /chuy neuh/, n. 1. People s Republic of, a country in E Asia. 1,221,591,778; 3,691,502 sq. mi. (9,560,990 sq. km). Cap.: Beijing. 2. Republic of. Also called Nationalist China. a republic consisting mainly of the island of Taiwan off the SE coast …   Universalium

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  • international relations — a branch of political science dealing with the relations between nations. [1970 75] * * * Study of the relations of states with each other and with international organizations and certain subnational entities (e.g., bureaucracies and political… …   Universalium

  • United Kingdom — a kingdom in NW Europe, consisting of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: formerly comprising Great Britain and Ireland 1801 1922. 58,610,182; 94,242 sq. mi. (244,100 sq. km). Cap.: London. Abbr.: U.K. Official name, United Kingdom of Great… …   Universalium

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