A lie is an excuse guarded.
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Irish Satirist
Sometimes I wish I had a terrible childhood, so that at least I’d have an excuse.
—Jimmy Fallon (b.1974) American Comedian, TV Personality, Actor, Musician
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but they make a good excuse.
—Thomas Szasz (1920–2012) Hungarian-American Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst
Every vice has its excuse ready.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
To offer the complexities of life as an excuse for not addressing oneself to the simpler, more manageable (trivial) aspects of daily existence is a perversity often indulged in by artists, husbands, intellectuals—and critics of the Women’s Movement.
—Barbara Grizzuti Harrison (1934–2002) American Journalist, Essayist, Memoirist, Travel Writer
I attribute my success to this:I never gave or took an excuse.
—Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) English Nurse
Destiny: A tyrant’s authority for crime and a fool’s excuse for failure.
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
Any excuse will serve a tyrant.
—Aesop (620–564 BCE) Greek Fabulist
Success is a tale of obstacles overcome, and for every obstacle overcome, an excuse not used.
—Robert Brault
No doubt Jack the Ripper excused himself on the grounds that it was human nature.
—A. A. Milne (1882–1956) British Humorist, Playwright, Children’s Writer
Friendship isn’t a big thing—it’s a million little things.
—Anonymous
Your letter of excuses has arrived. I receive the letter but do not admit the excuses except in courtesy, as when a man treads on your toes and begs your pardon—the pardon is granted, but the joint aches, especially if there is a corn upon it.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (1788–1824) English Romantic Poet
And oftentimes excusing of a fault doth make the fault the worse by the excuse.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Never ruin an apology with an excuse.
—Kimberly Johnson (b.1971) American Poet, Historian, Academic
An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie; or an excuse is a lie guarded.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself—and be lenient to everybody else.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse.
—Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) British Children’s Books Writer, Short story, Novelist, Poet, Journalist
It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.
—George Washington (1732–99) American Head of State, Military Leader
We have more ability than will power, and it is often an excuse to ourselves that we imagine that things are impossible.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
The only man who is really free is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse.
—Jules Renard (1864–1910) French Writer, Diarist
Several excuses are always less convincing than one.
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Essayist, Short Story Writer, Satirist
Apologizing.—A very desperate habit,—one that is rarely cured. Apology is only egotism wrong side out. Nine times out of ten, the first thing a man’s companion knows of his shortcoming is from his apology. It is mighty presumptuous on your part to suppose your small failures of so much consequence that you must make a talk about them.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist
The real man is one who always finds excuses for others, but never excuses himself.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
I never knew a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Don’t make excuses—make good.
—Anonymous
Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
Bad men excuse their faults; good men will leave them.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
If you don’t want to do something, one excuse is as good as another.
—Yiddish Proverb
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