The person who really wants to do something finds a way; the other person finds an excuse.
—Unknown
An excuse is worse than a lie, for an excuse is a lie, guarded.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
I attribute my success to this:I never gave or took an excuse.
—Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) English Nurse
Usually, terrible things that are done with the excuse that progress requires them are not really progress at all, but just terrible things.
—Russell Baker (1925–2019) American Journalist, Humorist, Television Host
Of all vain things excuses are the vainest.
—Charles Buxton (1823–71) British Politician, Writer
A lie is an excuse guarded.
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Irish Satirist
It is wise to direct your anger towards problems—not people, to focus your energies on answers—not excuses.
—William Arthur Ward (1921–94) American Author
It’s a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people don’t want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.
—P. G. Wodehouse (1881–1975) British Novelist, Short-story Writer, Playwright
Justifying a fault doubles it.
—French Proverb
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
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
He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but they make a good excuse.
—Thomas Szasz (1920–2012) Hungarian-American Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst
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
People with integrity do what they say they are going to do. Others have excuses.
—Laura Schlessinger (b.1947) American Radio Talk-Show Host, Author
Any excuse will serve a tyrant.
—Aesop (620–564 BCE) Greek Fabulist
An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie; or an excuse is a lie guarded.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
Uncalled for excuses are practical confessions.
—Charles Simmons (1924–2017) American Editor, Novelist
If you don’t want to do something, one excuse is as good as another.
—Yiddish Proverb
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
Success is a tale of obstacles overcome, and for every obstacle overcome, an excuse not used.
—Robert Brault
Several excuses are always less convincing than one.
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Essayist, Short Story Writer, Satirist
It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.
—George Washington (1732–99) American Head of State, Military Leader
The real man is one who always finds excuses for others, but never excuses himself.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
We excuse our sloth under the pretext of difficulty.
—Quintilian (c.35–c.100 CE) Roman Rhetorician, Literary Critic
Friendship isn’t a big thing—it’s a million little things.
—Anonymous
Pessimism is an excuse for not trying and a guarantee to a personal failure.
—Bill Clinton (b.1946) American Head of State, Lawyer, Public Speaker
The best job goes to the person who can get it done without passing the buck or coming back with excuses.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
Bad men excuse their faults; good men will leave them.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
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