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my dog ate my homework greg bustin executive leadership blog

My Dog Ate My Homework… and Other Excuses

September 1st, 2015  | 

It’s back to school season.

Whether you’re a student or a business executive, the back-to-school vibe is noticeable in classrooms, cubicles and conference rooms as calendars fill more quickly, cooler weather energizes behavior, and new assignments adopt an increasing sense of urgency.

The period between Labor Day and Thanksgiving is my busiest time of year as I work with leadership teams in strategic planning sessions to help colleagues agree on priorities, responsibilities, and action items for the coming year and beyond.

Last year in Forbes Leadership Forum, I discussed why most company strategic plans fail . One reason is lack of accountability.

Talk is Cheap

Part of what makes accountability difficult is that when you work with smart people and things don’t get done well or on time, you often are handed excuses.

No organization—not even high-performing organizations— is immune from the well-crafted excuse. What separates high-performing organizations from all the others is the way in which excuses are handled.

“My dog ate my homework” is an excuse that sprang from a 1905 anecdote about a minister temporarily filling in for another minister.

At the time, William ApMadoc, a contributor to the Welsh journal The Cambrian , indicated the initial punchline had more to do with brevity than an excuse for non-performance.

In ApMadoc’s telling, a visiting minister asked a clerk how his sermon had been received, and, in particular, whether it had been long enough. Upon hearing from the clerk the length was sufficient, the minister replied that just before the service his dog had eaten some of the paper on which the sermon was written. “Well,” replied the clerk, who felt his regular preacher’s sermons could be shorter, “couldn’t you give our vicar a pup from your dog?”

It was not until 1965 in Bel Kaufman’s best-selling novel Up the Down Staircase that students blamed their failure to complete an assignment on their dogs.

Since then, “My dog ate my homework” has become code in and out of classrooms for a lame excuse.

In the workplace, time, talent and treasure (money) are the three commodities every organization has in common, and here’s what lack of accountability sounds like:

Time I put out fires all day, so there’s no time to work on my stuff. Our deadlines are unrealistic. The deadline was unclear. I spend my time doing my boss’s work. I spend my time doing work my staff should be doing. I spend my time on tactical—not strategic—work. We can’t always get it right the first time but we can make time to fix it. There’s no sense of urgency around here. I ran out of time. His performance will improve with time.
Talent We don’t have the right people. We don’t have enough people. We don’t have enough of the right people. The people on our team can’t think for themselves. He let me down. These people don’t report to me, so their work is not my fault. I didn’t know I was allowed to make that decision. I didn’t understand the assignment. It wasn’t my job. The changes we made are preventing me from getting things done. My team won’t like me if I confront their performance issues. People here are not team players. That person is a family member and the rules don’t apply to her. We can’t keep our best people so we are not very effective.
Treasure We underprice what we sell so we can’t staff properly. We can’t agree on priorities so our budgets are spread too thin. Our customers beat us up on price so we can’t charge more. We are constantly being asked to do more with less, including more work for the same salary. Money is tight so we can’t hire the people we need.

It’s a vicious circle, and the excuses are infinite.

Talk is cheap so we often buy it. When we do, accountability suffers.

Moving from Excuses to Accountability

As leaders, we get the behavior we tolerate. So when it comes to holding people accountable, we are often our own worst enemy.

That was my story.

Despite achieving record financial results year over year, the firm I founded and led could have accomplished more. There would have been more fun and less drama if I knew then what I know now about accountability.

At the time, I accepted excuses that sounded logical even when I knew better. I allowed emotions to cloud my decision making. I delayed having a conversation with my underperforming partner because it was easier to avoid a difficult conversation than having one. Instead of practicing accountability, I practiced avoidance.

By the time I asked my partner to leave, I had learned three valuable lessons:

  • Clear expectations must be established. I assumed my partner and I both had the same definition of success. We didn’t. My failure to set clear expectations meant evaluating his performance was subjective. Excuses were plentiful, performance was lacking and accountability was non-existent. When your purpose, expectations, and rewards are crystal clear, your employees will embrace accountability as a way to become even more successful. The opposite is also true: If you are not clear about everything—vision, values, objectives, strategy, rewards, and, yes, penalties—the likelihood of achieving your vision is slim.
  • Bad news does not improve with age. I avoided discussing my partner’s performance issues for too long because I assumed his performance would improve. Now I know that as soon as you see a problem, it’s best to address it immediately. Failure to speak frankly with the person about his or her performance means nothing will change.
  • It’s not personal. Yes, you’re talking with a person, but leave excuses, emotions, and opinions behind. Stick to the facts, set a plan to get performance back on track, and communicate specific consequences for underperformance. If underperformers require termination, do it professionally and move on.

The day after we separated, my partner called to say he appre­ciated the straightforward, professional, and respectful manner in which I had handled our final meeting.

Even though these com­ments reflected well on his gracious acceptance of tough news, they reminded me that everyone feels better when accountability issues are addressed.

Excuses are substitutes for effort.

As a leader, be careful you’re not creating excuses for yourself over a difficult decision that is yours alone to make.

the dog ate my homework and other lame excuses

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About the Author: Greg Bustin advises some of the world’s most admired companies and leaders, and he’s dedicated a career to working with CEOs and the leadership teams of hundreds of companies in a range of industries. He’s facilitated more than 250 strategic planning sessions, he’s delivered more than 600 keynotes and workshops on every continent except Antarctica, and he coaches leaders who are inspired to take their career to the next level. His fourth leadership book— Accountability: The Key to Driving a High-Performance Culture (McGraw-Hill) —is a Soundview Executive Best Business Book.

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Why Do We Say “The Dog Ate My Homework”?

The history of the delinquent schoolchild’s favorite excuse..

Did this sad Lab eat your homework?

iStockphoto.

Viacom announced on Monday that Mitt Romney had declined to appear on Nickelodeon’s Kids Pick the President special this year, citing time constraints. President Obama’s camp pounced on Romney’s decision, saying, “Kids demand details … ‘The dog ate my homework’ just doesn’t cut it when you’re running for president. ” When did “my dog ate my homework” become known as schoolchildren’s favorite excuse?

The 1970s. Delinquent schoolchildren and adults have been blaming their shortcomings on their pets for more than a century, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that “my dog ate my homework” came to be considered the No. 1 likely story. One of the first sad sacks who was said to blame his dog for his own ill-preparedness was a priest. In this anecdote, which appeared as early as 1905, a clergyman pulls his clerk aside after a service to ask him whether his sermon seemed long enough. The clerk assures him that it was very nice, “just the right length,” and the priest is relieved. “I am very glad to hear you say that,” he says, “because just before I started to come here my dog got hold of my sermon and ate some of the leaves .” The story was repeated again and again . The first citation of the excuse in the Oxford English Dictionary is a 1929 article from the Manchester Guardian , which reads, “It is a long time since I have had the excuse about the dog tearing up the arithmetic homework.” In Bel Kaufman’s best-selling 1965 novel Up the Down Staircase , a list of students’ excuses for not having their homework includes “ My dog went on my homework ” and “ My dog chewed it up .” Even in 1965, however, it was still just another excuse.

“My dog ate my homework” became known as the quintessential far-fetched excuse in the next decade, when the phrase was used over and over . In a 1976 account of the Watergate tapes, E.C. Kennedy describes listening to President Nixon “ working on the greatest American excuse since the dog ate my homework .” A 1977 article from Alaska’s Daily News-Miner describes the difficulty students faced in coming up with a new excuse since “ ‘My dog ate my term paper’ is no longer acceptable .”

The excuse was alluded to more and more throughout the 1980s. A 1982 Time magazine column on excuses suggested that “The dog ate my homework is a favorite with schoolchildren,” while a 1987 New York Times column about how students were starting to blame malfunctioning computers and printers quoted one teacher as saying she recently received “ a note from a student’s mother saying the dog ate his homework .” Even the president picked up on the trend: When Congress pushed spending approval to the last minute in 1988, Ronald Reagan complained to reporters, “ I had hoped that we had marked the end of the ‘dog-ate-my-homework’ era of Congressional budgetry … but it was not to be .” It was all over television, with references to the excuse on shows like The Simpsons and Full House . By 1989, the narrator of Saved by the Bell theme was singing, “ And the dog ate all my homework last night .”

The phrase continued to grow more popular. Between 1990 and 2000, the New York Times wrote articles with headlines such as “ Beyond ‘Dog Ate My Homework’ ” and “ Homework Help Sites (Or, the Dog Ate My U.R.L.) ,” while The New Yorker described one criminal’s accounts of his wrongdoings as having “a decided my-dog-ate-my-homework quality.” Children’s books tried to capitalize on the trend with titles like A Dinosaur Ate My Homework , Aliens Ate My Homework , Godzilla Ate My Homework , and My Teacher Ate My Homework , daring to use the term to promote reading and education. Such titles have continued into the 2000s, but in recent years the phrase seems to finally be losing steam .

Bonus Explainer: An Obama spokesperson also said, “ It’s no surprise Romney decided to play hookey .” Why do we call cutting school “playing hookey”? To play hookey began as an Americanism in the 19 th century. The earliest known citation comes from 1848, from John Russell Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms , where it was said to mean “to play truant” and noted to be “ a term used among schoolboys, chiefly in the State of New York .” Word historians usually suggest that it’s from to hook it meaning to run away , a term as old as the Revolutionary War. However, others have proposed that it might derive from the Dutch expression hoekje spelen , the Dutch expression for “hide and seek”—especially since playing hooky emerged in New York during a time when it had a larger Dutch population.

Got a question about today’s news?  Ask the Explainer .

Explainer thanks Barry Popik, Jesse Sheidlower of the Oxford English Dictionary, and Ben Zimmer of the Visual Thesaurus and Vocabulary.com .

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Where Did The Phrase “The Dog Ate My Homework” Come From?

Dogs are known as man’s best friend. Dogs keep us safe, are hard workers … and can provide a handy excuse in a pinch. Maybe that’s why versions of the classic expression the dog ate my homework have been around for hundreds of years.

Today, the dog ate my homework is used as a stock example of the kind of silly excuses schoolchildren give for why their work isn’t finished. Very rarely do people say, “the dog ate my homework” and expect it to be taken literally; they use the expression as an example of a typically flimsy excuse.

So where did the phrase come from?

Forrest Wickman, a writer for Slate , describes the legend of the 6th-century Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise as the alleged first recorded “the dog ate my homework” story. According to the tale, Saint Ciarán had a tame young fox that would take his writings to his master for him. One day, the fox grew up and decided to eat the leather strap binding the writings together instead. Still, this tale is more Garden-of-Eden parable and less terrible schoolchild excuse.

The notion that dogs will eat just about anything, including paper, turns up in lots of stories over the centuries. An example comes from The Humors of Whist , published in 1808 in Sporting Magazine . In the story, the players are sitting around playing cards when one of them remarks that their companion would have lost the game had the dog not eaten the losing card. Good boy.

Some attribute the creation of the dog ate my homework to a joke that was going around at the beginning of the 20th century. In a tale found as far back as an 1894 memoir by Anglican priest Samuel Reynolds Hole, a preacher gives a shortened version of a sermon because a dog got into his study and ate some of the pages he had written. However, the clerk loved it because they had been wanting the preacher to shorten his sermons for years.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the first example of the dog ate my homework excuse in print can be found in a speech given by retiring headmaster James Bewsher in 1929 and published in the Manchester Guardian : “It is a long time since I have had the excuse about the dog tearing up the arithmetic homework.” The way this comment is phrased suggests that the whole dog ate my homework story had been around for some time before it was put in print.

When was the word homework created?

But in order for a dog to eat homework specifically, homework had to be invented (oh, and how we wish it hadn’t been). True, the word homework , as in what we call today housework , appears as early as 1653. But homework , as in school exercises to be done at home, isn’t found until 1852. Once we had homework , it was only a matter of time before the dog was accused of eating it.

How we use this phrase now

No matter the origin, sometime in the 1950s, the expression became set as the dog ate my homework . This inspired any number of riffs on the theme, like my cow ate my homework or my brother ate my homework . In the 1960s, the dog ate my homework continued to gain popularity. The expression popped up a couple times in politics over the years, like when President Reagan said to reporters in 1988, “I had hoped that we had marked the end of the ‘dog-ate-my-homework’ era of Congressional budgetry … but it was not to be.”

It seems unlikely that the dog ate my homework was ever used consistently or frequently by actual schoolchildren. In fact, it’s the unlikeliness of the story that makes it so funny and absurd as a joke. Instead, teachers and authority figures appear to have cited the dog ate my homework many times over the years as such a bad excuse they can’t believe students are really using it.

In the 21st century, students don’t spend as much time working with physical pen and paper as they once did. That may contribute to the decline in the use of the phrase. So, maybe soon we’ll see a new equally absurd phrase pop up. Come on Zoomers, you’ve got this.

WATCH: What's A Unique Homework Routine That Works?

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These Oh-So-2018 Homework Excuses Will Make You LOL

We’ve come a long way since blaming it on the dog.

Funniest Homework Excuses of 2018

“My dog ate my homework” is, like, so yesterday. While the times they are a-changin’, so, too, are students’ homework excuses. Today’s digital natives have come up with some pretty inventive reasons for avoiding academic responsibility. Here are a few of my personal favorites, and by favorites I mean, here are just some of the reasons why I’m banging my head on my desk.

“My smart TV hacked my computer.”

I bet the voice recognition remote told the TV to do it.

“Alexa gave me the wrong answers.”

Inadvertent admission of cheating is almost as good as the assignment itself.

“I didn’t realize those hyperlinks would print.”

If you’re going to copy and paste, at least show some pride in your plagiarism.

“Google Docs saved everyone else’s work but mine!”

Look me in the eyes and say it again.

“The alert on my phone didn’t go off.”

The ol’ AM and PM are tricky. May I suggest a planner, a sticky note, a string around your finger …

“My computer got a virus.”

Had your computer’s three previous viruses not coincided with the due dates of our three previous assignments, I might have believed you.

“I didn’t know I couldn’t text you my paper.”

How many paragraphs in were you before you realized that texting a five-page research paper wouldn’t work out?

“Our Wi-Fi was down.”

Allow me to introduce you to the library .

“You didn’t get my assignment? Weird. I emailed it.”

THAT IS WEIRD, ISN’T IT?

And of course, an oldie but goodie that continues to stand the test of time:

“I didn’t know we had an assignment—you didn’t remind us.”

And, let me guess, neither did Siri?

What are the funniest homework excuses you’ve heard this year? Come and share in our  WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook.

Plus, check out our list of funny student test answers . 

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My Dog Ate My Homework and Other Lame Excuses

Jack Lemkuil , Staff Writer December 18, 2014

According to the British online newspaper The Telegraph , the average teacher hears approximately 4 excuses each day from students explaining why they did not do their homework.

An excuse can be defined as a reason or explanation put forward to defend or justify a fault or offense. All of us make them even if we don’t realize we do. The most popular excuse is why homework wasn’t completed, according to most teachers.

Even at Notre Dame Academy, teachers hear many excuses each and every day from students. The most popular excuse teachers hear of why students did not do their homework is because of technology failure. Some popular excuses include, “My printer broke” or “My Internet was down” or  “My computer crashed and it did not save. Yet, not all excuses are like these ones and some become a lot more elaborate.

Miss Kim Simon, a science teacher at NDA, once received an excuse not like the others. She explained, “I had a student once tell me that they couldn’t present their powerpoint because they accidently knocked their computer out their window.”

Sometimes students are so desperate to get out of situations, they just start saying random things to get off the hook without thinking about what they say.

The next most popular excuse for a student not doing his or her homework is injury or the death of a relative or someone close. Yet, lying about the death of a loved one is very serious and should not happen. Mrs. Katie Stanczak, theology teacher at NDA, actually caught one of her students lying about a loved one’s death. She said, “I had a student tell me that their dog died so they could not present. I called their house to make sure the student was all right because he seemed really sad about it in class. The mom laughed and told me that it was the anniversary of the dog’s death. The dog died a year ago.”

Many students admit that although they are not telling an outright lie, they stretch the truth to their teachers. Giovanna Canella, a junior at NDA, explains, “My cousin told her teacher that her cousin was born the night before so she could not do her homework. Yet, her cousin was actually born 3 months earlier.”

Other students really do tell their teachers the truth about why they did not complete their homework, but the truth sounds like a lie. Junior Steven Strutt explained, “My dog actually ate my homework one time.” Even though it sounds impossible, Strutt claims that it actually happened.

Instead of lying to a teacher about homework, students should just be upfront with them. If the student is honest, the teacher will respect their honesty and give them a less harsh punishment.

Sam Lucero, sophomore at NDA, honestly told her teacher one time, “I gave it to someone else to copy it, but they have never given it back.” Sam’s teacher respected her honesty and gave a fairer punishment.

In the end, honesty is still the best policy. Lying to a teacher not only breaks the honor code at school, it is not worth jeopardizing your own values. So just get your homework done and you won’t need an excuse anyway.

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From Our Listeners

Sometimes the dog really does eat your homework.

Last week, we brought you the story of how the phrase "The Dog Ate My Homework" came to be and how it morphed into a palpably ridiculous excuse. Turns out, sometimes its not an excuse at all. Weekend Edition host Scott Simon has a few stories from our listeners that swear, honest, the dog did eat their homework.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Last week, we tried to trace the origins of that legendary excuse "the dog ate my homework."

FORREST WICKMAN: One of the first examples is this guy. Saint Kieran, who around the fifth century had this fox that he found. And he started taking the fox around and at some point, the fox ate his Psalms.

SIMON: That's Forrest Wickman, a writer for Slate Magazine, who researched one of the most palpably ridiculous phrases of all time. But as many listeners told us, sometimes even ridiculous things can be true. They can happen to you.

JACQUELINE MOSS: My name is Jacqueline Moss, and I'm from Cumberland, Maine. And my dog really did eat my homework.

SIMON: Her beloved Labrador, Dusty, turned out to have a taste for history.

MOSS: When I was in sixth grade, we had to make a project for ancient civilization, and it was a Sumerian brick. I made it, and I left it on the radiator overnight. I came downstairs in the morning, and it had disappeared. And my dog - my Labrador was looking very guilty.

SIMON: But reasonably healthy. As it turns out, the formula her teacher gave her for Sumerian brick, was more like a recipe for a historically big dog biscuit.

MOSS: Yeah, she was fine. (LAUGHTER) There was nothing bad in it. It was just food coloring and flour and oats, salt. (LAUGHTER) So it must have been like, what she dreamed of because it was the size of a loaf of bread, and there was nothing left.

SIMON: Her teacher accepted her excuse. Harry Atwood, a high school English teacher in Dayton, Virginia, says he's heard all sorts of excuses from unprepared students. But one stands out. One day some years ago, he writes, a student came to class with the excuse that his parents had burned his homework. The following day, the local newspaper reported that the boy's family was out for a winter's drive high up in the Allegheny Mountains, and had punctured their gas tank on a rock. Soon out of gas, out of cell phone range and in below-freezing temperatures, the boy's family had used the contents of his backpack to start a fire. Excuse accepted. And finally...

LINDA BECKER: Hi, this is Linda Becker from Williamstown, Massachusetts. My dog ate my students' homework.

SIMON: That wasn't an audio glitch. She explains.

BECKER: I came home from teaching one day, and left my bag on the floor in the kitchen; went about my business. When I returned to the kitchen, my puppy - with his little, needle-like teeth - had pulled some student papers out of my bag, and chewed them up. Imagine the embarrassment of having to tell students, my dog ate your homework.

(SOUNDBITE OF BARKING DOG MUSIC)

SIMON: Well, Ms. Becker, I'm sure they'll accept your excuse, just this once.

SIMON: This is NPR News.

Copyright © 2012 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

What's Hot

The dog ate my homework ... and other excuses for not living your ideal life.

Kathi Sharpe-Ross

Chief Reinventor @ TheReinventionExchange.com and President of THE SHARPE ALLIANCE global marketing agency

The Dog Ate My Homework ... and Other Excuses for not Living Your Ideal Life

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.

― Benjamin Franklin

Whether it's been on your mind or never crossed your mind, there comes a time where reality about this notion of "life" and what it really is settles in and you realize that you're saying "I wish had..." I should have..." What if I..."

Do you really want to wake up one day, perhaps when it really is too late, and have regrets about all the things you might have done? Call it the "Bucket List," "Second Chapters," "Life Reinventions," they're all a nagging reminder that living large and the journey of life can be quite extraordinary. It can be spiritual, health, career, hobby, relationships, business, skill related -- anything you've thought of that might enhance this journey in your life.

Do you find yourself living vicariously through others -- marveling at their Facebook page, reading stories of amazing ventures that others dared to take on, life changes that were a complete 360 that someone had the courage to figure out and tackle?

STOP! Stop doing that to yourself. It's time to stop making excuses. Especially now as you start to enter the "Empty Nester" phase of life. This is the most exciting time of rediscovery in your life. Recognize the things that have held you back for the last 20+ years and stop hiding behind them because if you ever had an excuse, now's the time to dispel it.

Find the one thing you want to do, that you've dreamed of and you're yearning to try and make it happen. It may take ten minutes to act on it or two years to plan, save, research and go do ... but just do it, for goodness sake.

I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't...

-Lucille Ball

Sure you have a laundry list of excuses and I'm here to hold the mirror up to you and bet that you can identify with at least three or four of these below with regards to some dream or another that you have about your one precious life.

The 10 excuses we make for not getting on with the dreams/second acts/living large are right here and there are plenty more of them -- how many do you identify with ...?

1.Too busy with the current version of your life 2.Not sure of what I want to do/be/explore 3.Don't know what I'm passionate about anymore 4.Can't afford to invest/spend money on the venture/"crazy/not-so-crazy" idea 5.Afraid to risk not being successful at this 6.What will others say/think? 7.Don't know where to learn more about what I want to do 8.Never been good at starting something new and it's overwhelming 9.Have to stay focused on all the things that help my family run smoothly 10.Always have to put everyone else first -- they need me -- I could never do that for me, it would be selfish

If you can relate to at least two or three of these excuses, it's time to take an even harder look at all the reasons why you SHOULD dare to dream and pursue a passion that you've long yearned to pursue.

So how are you going to do this? What will motivate you to stop making excuses? Here's a little guidance -- much of it obvious but these reminders are to help you gain clarity and direction that might just get you there...

It won't happen all on its own. You have to consciously create your reality and your life to be what you want. It's not luck, it's intention, a goal, a road map and a plan to get there.

Come up with your Action List -- pros, cons, things you have to do, people who may be a part of it, a timeline, goals, milestones, and ideas that will get you there.

Buy a great little notebook and make it your place to check in with daily. Create tabs or sections for each category you want to focus on and the project details listed above. You can use a computer or notepad on your smartphone, but writing on paper in a little notebook is more visceral -- connecting at a deeper level with you, thus helping you to actualize it.

Pick a time each day that you know you can stick to -- wake up 15 minutes earlier, 15 minutes before bedtime, 15 minutes of your lunch hour. Whatever else you've been doing, make this your new priority. Use this time for research, jotting down ideas and plans, making lists of how you're going to accomplish your goals, write down the challenges you foresee and how you'll overcome them.

Set the intention of what you want to the point that it's so clear you can feel it, smell it, taste it and help manifest it becoming your new reality.

Reinvention and evolution in your life are inspired, creative, exciting times. Don't make excuses any more. Take those baby steps and with every step, comes a reward of accomplishment and satisfaction that you can actually create what you want the moment you stop letting those excuses get in your way.

So take one small step towards creating your life with courage. Don't sit on the sidelines and look at others in awe when that could be you fulfilling your own dreams. What may seem like a daunting task and unachievable is yours with each and every step you make towards it. Every little step will be a major milestone for you to celebrate -- with a pat on the back, a glass of wine, a victory dance -- it's yours, so own it!

Never be afraid to do something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic!

#HappyReinventing www.TheReinventionExchange.com LinkedIn: The Reinvention Exchange Facebook: The Reinvention Exchange Instagram: KathiSR or ReinventYourLife25 Twitter: KathiSR

Earlier on Huff/Post50:

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Colleges adapt to fafsa delays with custom aid forms and extended deadlines, “the dog ate my homework” and other excuses: tales from the professor’s perspective.

Lesley J. Vos

We’ve all heard the classic excuse, “the dog ate my homework.” But what about the more creative and unexpected explanations students offer for not turning in their assignments on time? In this article, we dive into some of the most bizarre and memorable excuses that professors have encountered. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and prepare to be amused by these real-life tales from the academic world.

"The Dog Ate My Homework" and Other Excuses: Tales from the Professor's Perspective

A Family of Excuses

One professor shared a series of interconnected excuses from a student who claimed their father was in a coma, their mother was incarcerated, and their sister was in rehab. The professor later found out that the student had been lying about these family issues and was simply trying to buy more time for their assignment. This anecdote serves as a reminder that some students will go to great lengths to avoid completing their work on time.

The Unexpected Surgery

Another professor recounts a student claiming they couldn’t submit their assignment because they had just undergone an emergency appendectomy. The professor was initially skeptical but eventually found out that the student was indeed telling the truth. This story highlights the importance of giving students the benefit of the doubt, as sometimes even the most outlandish excuses can be genuine.

The Supernatural Excuse

In one story, a student explained their late assignment by claiming that their apartment was haunted. According to the student, they were unable to complete their work due to the constant disturbances from the paranormal activity. While this excuse might seem far-fetched, it certainly demonstrates the creativity of some students.

The Reptilian Roadblock

A professor shared an experience where a student claimed that their pet snake had escaped and was blocking access to their computer, preventing them from submitting their work. The professor, intrigued by the story, requested photographic evidence. Surprisingly, the student provided a photo of the snake, validating their claim. This tale emphasizes that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

The Stolen Laptop Caper

In one instance, a student reported that their laptop had been stolen, along with their completed assignment. The professor, suspicious of the story, asked the student to file a police report. The student then admitted to making up the excuse and eventually submitted the work late. This anecdote serves as a reminder that professors have seen and heard it all when it comes to creative excuses.

The Ultimate Procrastinator

A student took procrastination to the next level by claiming that their assignment was on a flash drive that had accidentally been flushed down the toilet. Not only does this story showcase the lengths some students will go to avoid submitting their work, but it also serves as a reminder that having a backup of one’s work is always a good idea.

The Curious Case of the Cat

In another example, a student explained that their cat had knocked a cup of coffee onto their laptop, rendering it unusable and destroying their assignment. The professor, empathetic to the student’s plight, allowed for an extension. This story highlights the importance of understanding and flexibility from professors, as accidents can and do happen.

The Coordinated Excuse

A professor recounts a time when multiple students from the same class claimed that their carpool had experienced a flat tire, causing them to miss a deadline. The professor, suspecting that the students had coordinated their excuse, asked for proof in the form of a photo of the flat tire. Much to their surprise, the students provided the evidence, showcasing that sometimes even the most unlikely explanations can be true.

The Unexpected Act of Nature

In one case, a student claimed that their assignment was late due to a power outage caused by a squirrel chewing through power lines. The professor, intrigued by the unusual explanation, conducted a 

quick online search and discovered that there had indeed been a power outage in the student’s area. This story highlights the importance of fact-checking and not dismissing seemingly far-fetched excuses outright.

The Emotional Support Animal Dilemma

Another story revolves around a student who explained their late submission by saying that their emotional support animal, a dog, had passed away. The student even went as far as to provide a death certificate for the dog. This story serves as a reminder that personal circumstances can sometimes impact a student’s ability to complete their work on time, and a compassionate approach from professors can make all the difference.

From haunted apartments to runaway snakes, professors have encountered a wide range of excuses for late assignments. These real-life stories offer a glimpse into the world of academia and the lengths some students will go to avoid turning in their college essays on time. While some excuses may be genuine, others are simply a testament to the creativity and resourcefulness of students under pressure. Regardless of the reason, these tales provide an entertaining and insightful look at the unique challenges faced by professors and students alike.

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THE ORIGINAL SOURCE FOR WOMEN'S LEADERS SINCE 2001

My Dog Ate My Homework Excuses Lesson 2

Simple Lessons with Simple Objectives

My Dog Ate my Homework, I Have Bought Five Oxen, and Other Excuses

Teach me — lesson 2.

October 16, 2023

Simple Objective: Stop making excuses.

Make it Personal: Share what your favorite excuse is to use and when you used it last.

And they all with one consent began to make excuse… Luke 14:18 (KJV)

Jesus told a parable in Luke 14:7-24. It was about a man making a great feast and inviting a huge number of people to come. However, there were so many who had excuses not to attend. One bought five oxen. One bought some land. One got married. Luke 14:18 says they all made excuses with “one consent”. In other words, they all decided not to attend as a group. It is so easy to use excuses if others are doing it.

There are so many things we could discuss about this parable, but I just want to concentrate on the excuses today. They sound pretty lame. Don’t they? They are like, “the dog ate my homework” kind of excuses.

Sometimes we don’t do things because we just can’t. There might be some serious things going on in our lives and we can’t attend everything. But when it comes to serving God, I wonder how many flimsy excuses we give just because we don’t want to do something we know the Holy Spirit is leading us to do.

It is so easy to tell ourselves that we are too tired, too busy, or maybe too stressed when it comes to serving God. But when I think about eternity and all those people that need to come to the banquet . You know, the ones that need Salvation, then how weak my own excuses sound. Jesus is my Great Teacher , and I have to be careful of standing before Him with excuses.

So, are you using excuses when it comes to serving God?

Copyright ©2023 Julia Bettencourt

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Steph curry defeats sabrina ionescu in groundbreaking all-star 3-point challenge, commentary: if your excuse is that ‘my dog ate my homework,’ make sure you have dog.

Dick Sparrer, Editor, Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, for his Wordpress profile. (Michael Malone/Bay Area News Group)

It’s an excuse students have been pitching to their teachers throughout the ages, and no doubt they will again in this new school year.

“Uh, my dog at my homework.”

Yeah, right!

You know what? Teachers don’t fall for that feeble excuse any more today than they did, say, some 50 years ago when I tried it.

“I did do my homework,” I explained to Mr. Shipe, my seventh-grade math teacher, “but my dog ate it.”

“Well, Mr. Sparrer,” he said (we always knew we were in trouble when he called us mister), “that’s pretty difficult to believe … considering the fact that you don’t have a dog.” (Are there no secrets in a small town?)

The funny thing is, though, it’s not always just an excuse. When my youngest son, Kevin, was a teenager, it really happened. And, surprise, his teacher didn’t believe him.

I can’t say that I blamed the teacher, though. After all, the kid had a pretty lousy track record when it came to doing his homework. It wouldn’t be the first time he missed an assignment, and it wouldn’t be the first time that he tried to cover his tracks with some lame excuse.

This time, though, lame as it sounded, he was telling the truth. I know, because I found the chomped up pieces of Styrofoam and broken sticks strewn all over the floor that morning before school.

It seems that the teen and his buddy were working on their chemistry project on Monday afternoon … and the golden retriever was working on it all that night.

They were building a model of a molecule, but when they finished they were stupid enough to leave it on the floor of the kid’s bedroom. (OK, so they weren’t exactly rocket scientists.)

To Curly, that was an open invitation for a little midnight snack.

Curly was our little handful of Christmas fluff who had grown into 85 pounds of paws, head, wide body and dog slobber. He was enormous, and had an appetite to match.

A typical meal for Curly was a huge bowl of puppy kibble, half a bowl of water and then the other dog’s bowl of kibble. For dessert, he usually liked a pair of my slippers, or maybe a few of Kevin’s socks.

This dog would eat anything, and he was big enough that he could help himself to just about everything. So a science project sitting on the bedroom floor? It was just too inviting, and too tasty, to pass up.

So what was once a perfectly nice model that hopefully their chemistry teacher would recognize as a molecule was now just so much trash scattered across the floor.

“Dad!” screeched the teenager when he woke up to the mess, “Curly ate my homework!”

“You’d better come up with a better story than that,” I warned him.

“But it’s the truth,” he cried. “Look at this mess.”

“I know,” I said, “but I don’t think you’re teacher will believe you.”

“Then what am I supposed to tell him?” he asked.

“Maybe you could tell him that you tried to split an atom, and this is what you ended up with,” I chuckled.

“Very funny,” he said. “I guess I’ll just have to try the truth and hope for the best.”

Well, he did, and it certainly worked better for Kevin than it did for me … at least he had a dog.

Contact Dick Sparrer at [email protected] .

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The Dog Ate My Homework!

Top 5 funniest student excuses.

The Survey Says

Everyone knows that a great teacher embraces creativity and encourages it in each and every student. Many students learn this lesson quite well but unfortunately, illustrate their mastery when pressed about homework not being completed or projects left undone.

The excuse “the dog ate my homework” probably dates to the Paleolithic era when a creative student met the first dog. Poor canines have been blamed for academic failures for the next 15,000 years. While the excuse continues to be an old favorite, students today have applied their creativity to parents, families, other pets and now of course technology.

ESGI and ThinkFives polled hundreds of teachers to solicit the funniest or most creative excuses they have heard in their classrooms. These are actual excuses used by students and shared with ThinkFives.

It’s My Parents!

  • My mom punished me by not letting me do it.
  • My mother said “Jesus is coming soon so we better go to church instead of doing homework.”
  • My mama fell through the porch.
  • My dad didn’t do it.
  • My nanny drove over my science project and the fruit flies just didn’t make it.

There’s an Animal or Sibling Involved

  • My cat peed on my homework.
  • A duck flew into the house and grabbed it with the Rice Krispies.
  • My little brother hid it too well during hide and seek.
  • My baby sister ate it because she still doesn’t know what food is.
  • My brother was farting all night and I couldn’t be in my room. That’s where my computer is.

Darn that Technology 

  • Our Internet does not work unless the sun is shining.
  • My mom locked me in the bathroom until I would take a shower and there was no wifi in there.
  • I thought I was using the copier but it was the shredder.
  • I dropped my iPad in the toilet.
  • My Chromebook is sick. It has a virus.

Understandable Issues

  • It was International Pancake Day- free pancakes at the IHOP.
  • I had a potty battle and I lost!
  • I had to get my hair done
  • I didn’t want to add to your workload.
  • My friend is failing so I gave it to him to use.
  • It was raining.
  • My brain left my body for a bit.
  • I didn’t have time because I had to play with my PlayStation.
  • I didn’t want “Sally” to be the only one that didn’t have her homework today.
  • I kept thinking about bubblegum.

What’s a Funny Excuse You’ve Heard?

Share this:

For the reason their laptop wasn’t charged for class today a student said, “We don’t have outlets at home.” When in fact I know he does.🙄😂#middleschoolers #alwaysforthelaugh

There’s always an excuse! I don’t get it. Doing my homework when I was a kid wasn’t an option! 🙄

I have to admit: “My Chromebook is sick. It has a virus.” was a very clever one. Wow, such creativity there! Really impressed!

“I seriously had full intentions of doing my homework, but then, I remembered how important you said sleep was.”

I didn’t do it because it was too easy for me..

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the dog ate my homework and other lame excuses

the dog ate my homework

English [ edit ]

Phrase [ edit ].

  • 2011 May 6, Damian Carrington, “Environment action delays blamed on 'dog ate my homework' excuses”, in The Guardian ‎ [1] , archived from the original on 2022-08-24 : Their reasons for missed deadlines are mostly of the " dog ate my homework variety" including such easily foreseeable events as yesterday's elections and that the badger culling policy is "difficult and sensitive".
  • 2014 September 12, Oscar Webb, quoting Donald Campbell, “UK Government Changes Its Line On Diego Garcia Flight Logs Sought in Rendition Row - Again”, in VICE ‎ [2] , archived from the original on 2022-12-05 : The government's excuses for Diego Garcia's missing records are getting increasingly confused and desperate. Ministers could hardly be less credible if they simply said ' the dog ate my homework .'
  • 2017 February 18, Mia Berman, “Go West-minster, Young Mastiff”, in HuffPost ‎ [3] , archived from the original on 2019-04-09 : Our immune system's weak; we've been sick as a dog, missing work and school, resorting to " the dog ate my homework " excuses amidst these frigid dog days of winter.

References [ edit ]

the dog ate my homework and other lame excuses

  • English lemmas
  • English phrases
  • English multiword terms
  • English terms with quotations

IMAGES

  1. Dog Ate Homework

    the dog ate my homework and other lame excuses

  2. The Dog Ate My Homework (... and other excuses)

    the dog ate my homework and other lame excuses

  3. Sorry, sir. The dog ate my homework.

    the dog ate my homework and other lame excuses

  4. My Dog Ate My Homework Pictures, Photos, and Images for Facebook

    the dog ate my homework and other lame excuses

  5. Funniest Homework Excuses Since "The Dog Ate My Homework"

    the dog ate my homework and other lame excuses

  6. The Dog Ate My Homework And Other Creati

    the dog ate my homework and other lame excuses

COMMENTS

  1. The dog ate my homework

    " The dog ate my homework " (or " My dog ate my homework ") is an English expression which carries the suggestion of being a common, poorly fabricated excuse made by schoolchildren to explain their failure to turn in an assignment on time.

  2. The Dog Ate My Homework….And Other Lame Excuses

    The Dog Ate My Homework….And Other Lame Excuses Bible Studies Devotional Verse of the Day Words Of Encouragement By Sheri Boulet / last month Share Share When I was in high school we had, for a short period, a poodle named Dusty Joe. I loathed that dog.

  3. My Dog Ate My Homework... and Other Excuses

    "My dog ate my homework" is an excuse that sprang from a 1905 anecdote about a minister temporarily filling in for another minister. At the time, William ApMadoc, a contributor to the Welsh journal The Cambrian, indicated the initial punchline had more to do with brevity than an excuse for non-performance.

  4. Did Anybody Ever Believe The Excuse "The Dog Ate My Homework"?

    Explainer Why Do We Say "The Dog Ate My Homework"? The history of the delinquent schoolchild's favorite excuse. By Forrest Wickman Oct 09, 20126:41 PM Did this sad Lab eat your...

  5. Where Did The Phrase "The Dog Ate My Homework" Come From?

    Good boy. Some attribute the creation of the dog ate my homework to a joke that was going around at the beginning of the 20th century. In a tale found as far back as an 1894 memoir by Anglican priest Samuel Reynolds Hole, a preacher gives a shortened version of a sermon because a dog got into his study and ate some of the pages he had written.

  6. Funniest Homework Excuses Since "The Dog Ate My Homework"

    By Stephanie Jankowski. Apr 6, 2018. "My dog ate my homework" is, like, so yesterday. While the times they are a-changin', so, too, are students' homework excuses. Today's digital natives have come up with some pretty inventive reasons for avoiding academic responsibility. Here are a few of my personal favorites, and by favorites I ...

  7. Can The Dog Still Eat Your Homework? : NPR

    WICKMAN: Yeah, so even through the '60s people - it's still juts one of many excuses. People might say my dog ate my homework. My dog went on my homework is one excuse that's used in a popular ...

  8. My Dog Ate My Homework and Other Lame Excuses

    Junior Steven Strutt explained, "My dog actually ate my homework one time.". Even though it sounds impossible, Strutt claims that it actually happened. Instead of lying to a teacher about homework, students should just be upfront with them. If the student is honest, the teacher will respect their honesty and give them a less harsh punishment.

  9. The Dog Ate My Homework... and Other Excuses

    "The dog ate my homework" is an excuse that sprang from a 1905 anecdote about a minister temporarily filling in for another minister. At the time, William ApMadoc, a contributor to the...

  10. Sometimes The Dog Really Does Eat Your Homework : NPR

    Turns out, sometimes its not an excuse at all. Weekend Edition host Scott Simon has a few stories from our listeners that swear, honest, the dog did eat their homework. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Last ...

  11. The Dog Ate My Homework ... And Other Excuses For Not Living Your Ideal

    1.Too busy with the current version of your life 2.Not sure of what I want to do/be/explore 3.Don't know what I'm passionate about anymore 4.Can't afford to invest/spend money on the venture/"crazy/not-so-crazy" idea 5.Afraid to risk not being successful at this

  12. "The Dog Ate My Homework" and Other Excuses: Tales from the Professor's

    We've all heard the classic excuse, "the dog ate my homework." But what about the more creative and unexpected explanations students offer for not turning. News; AI Tools; Writing; Text editing; Coding; ... "The Dog Ate My Homework" and Other Excuses: Tales from the Professor's Perspective published May 6, 2023 - updated June 23, 2023

  13. 6 Homework Excuses Better Than 'My Dog Ate That Ish'

    by Patricia Mary Boyle February 8, 2024 Something about this never-ending winter makes me bet that you're at a special point in the semester when the thrill of submitting assignments before the due date has faded and when the excitement surrounding your professors' faith in you has lost its luster.

  14. My Dog Ate My Homework Excuses Lesson 2

    Luke 14:18 (KJV) Jesus told a parable in Luke 14:7-24. It was about a man making a great feast and inviting a huge number of people to come. However, there were so many who had excuses not to attend. One bought five oxen. One bought some land. One got married. Luke 14:18 says they all made excuses with "one consent".

  15. Dog ate my homework

    Definition of dog ate my homework in the Idioms Dictionary. dog ate my homework phrase. What does dog ate my homework expression mean? ... Bob was late with his report and had nothing but his typical dog-ate-my-homework excuses. See also: ate, dog, homework. ... medical, or any other professional. ...

  16. The dog ate my homework

    What does the dog ate my homework expression mean? Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. ... LAME-EXCUSE FOXES CAN BURGER OFF ... literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit ...

  17. The Dog Ate My Homework and other lame excuses

    http://www.virtualmarketing.bizSo I'm guessing the dog probably didn't eat your homework or many other lame excuses we all come up with and don't get me wron...

  18. Commentary: If your excuse is that 'my dog ate my homework,' make sure

    Commentary: If your excuse is that 'my dog ate my homework,' make sure you have dog By Dick Sparrer | [email protected] | Bay Area News Group August 26, 2013 at 1:37 p.m....

  19. The Dog Ate My Homework!

    Classroom The Dog Ate My Homework! Top 5 Funniest Student Excuses The Survey Says Everyone knows that a great teacher embraces creativity and encourages it in each and every student. Many students learn this lesson quite well but unfortunately, illustrate their mastery when pressed about homework not being completed or projects left undone.

  20. idioms

    Dog ate my homework is a typical excuse used for someone not doing their homework. In this case "dog ate my car" it is just a joke as obviously a dog cannot eat someone's car. In other words the person was most likely late for something. Or couldn't drive to a particular place and this is just a funny excuse.

  21. the dog ate my homework

    Phrase [ edit] the dog ate my homework (cliché, also attributively) A stereotypical unconvincing excuse for not completing school homework, or (by extension) not meeting one's obligations. References [ edit] " the dog ate my homework ", in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

  22. The Dog Ate My Homework: And 1,001 Even Better Excuses to Get Out of

    Who hasn't been faced the predicament for coming up with the right excuse at the right time? This is the ultimate tome for shirking responsibility, avoiding unpleasantness, and generally wiggling out of things. Whether it's a chore that didn't get finished, Aunt Millie's tea party, or that visit to the dentist, there's a handy phrase that will allow the reader to get off scott-free All in all ...

  23. The Dog Ate My Homework and Other Excuses

    The Dog Ate My Homework and Other Excuses. Debbie Martinez is a certified life coach specializing in divorce and is a Supreme Court certified family mediator with a private practice in South Florida. She has a bimonthly divorce column in Miami's Community Newspaper and you can read her blog in The Huffington Post.