History Main / LameExcuse

* ''Literature/HankTheCowdog'' has Drover, who often complains of a bad leg when put under pressure.

* Also in a RoosterTeeth creation, ''RedvsBlue'', the character Caboose says, "I am allergic to things I do not want to do." The way he says it with complete seriousness might even suggest he believes it himself (his intelligence is certainly faulty enough for it to seem plausible to him).

-->'''Chet:''' "Uuhh, as awesome as that sounds, I have, like, this condition where blood shoots out of my eyes if I learn too much or someting, so... I gotta blaze!"

* ''HankTheCowdog'' has Drover, who often complains of a bad leg when put under pressure.

* In WilliamFaulkner's ''AsILayDying'', the father Anse claims he can't maintain his crops because sweating will kill him. It's not clear whether he actually believes this or is just using it to get out of work.

* In StephenKing's ''IT'', Richie says he can't help dig a hole because he's "got a bone in his leg."

* In ''TheSims'', if you try to call over a person you're not very close to, they'll often give one of these by way of rejection. Unless they just outright say 'no', anyway.

* ''[[DrStrangelove Dr. Strangelove]]'' - Lionel Mandrake - "I'd love to come, Jack, but you see, the thing is, the string's...gone out...in my leg!" A literal Lame Excuse.

* In Danny Wallace's autobiographical book ''Yes Man'', it's mentioned that before the events of the book, he'd been making up a lot of excuses to avoid going out with friends. These included saying that he couldn't come out because he'd won a competition to meet Lionel Richie, and claiming that he'd accidentally reversed all his leg joints. In the prequel book ''Join Me'' (also autobiographical), there was an especially hilarious incident of this, where Danny was [[ItMakesSenseInContext pointing at a woman on the plane and mouthing "join me"]], and her son asked him why he was doing this. His response? [[spoiler: "[[CrowningMomentOfFunny Sorry. My leg hurts.]]"]]
* In WilliamFaulkner's ''AsILayDying'', the father Anse claims he can't maintain his crops because sweating will kill him. It's not clear whether he actually believes this or is just using it to get out of work.
* In StephenKing's ''IT'', Richie says he can't help dig a hole because he's "got a bone in his leg."

* The Dead Parrot sketch from ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' is a good example that a bizarrely large segment of the audience misses. [[strike: Graham Chapman]] Michael Palin knows the parrot is dead, so virtually everything he says is a LameExcuse.

** Possibly subverted with Gonzo's excuse [[INeedToGoIronMyDog "Oh My God! I left an anvil in the oven!"]], as given the nature of some of his acts, his excuse might actually have been true. Though the question of what he was planning to do with [[{{NoodleImplement}} a freshly baked anvil]] was never answered.

[[AC:{{Theater}}]]

--> Natalie: Oh Dad, Henry can't stay he's got...homework...surgery...Rabies!

* Also in a RoosterTeeth creation, ''[[RedvsBlue Red vs Blue]]'', the character Caboose says, "I am allergic to things I do not want to do." The way he says it with complete seriousness might even suggest he believes it himself (his intelligence is certainly faulty enough for it to seem plausible to him).

* The ''HorribleHistories'' animated program featured a smart-mouth jerk attempting to get out of Grecian-style wrestling by claiming to have sprained his ''oesophagus''.

** Played with in another episode, after Beckett's apartment has been blown up and Castle has invited her in to stay the night; Castle's mother Martha encounters Beckett cooking breakfast in her pajamas, and in order to forestall [[{{UST}} the obvious alternative explanation]], Beckett blurts out that she's there "on orders from the FBI." It's the truth, sort of, but it certainly ''sounds'' like a LameExcuse:

* [[TreeFog It's my cousin. He can talk now. It's actually miraculous.]]

--->"Come on, Scooby Doo/I see you/Pretending you've got a sliver/You're not fooling me/'Cause I can see/The way you shake and shiver"

--->"I will not be coming to work today, I was in a terrible plane crash. My entire family was killed and I am a vegetable. I'll see you tomorrow."

* The play ''Sheik, Rattle and Roll'' has a pair of cowardly guards as characters. At one point when ordered to attack someone, one of them yells, "Oh! My gamy leg!" and clutches his leg. A second later, the other shouts, "Oh! My dandruff!" and clutches his head.

* On ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan,'' [[spoiler:Norman Osborn]] realizes that [[spoiler:Spider-Man suspects that he's the Green Goblin, so he fakes hurting his leg in a battle. This was meant to throw Spider-Man off the trail when he later encountered Norman uninjured]]. Shortly after, he manages a quick bit of XanatosSpeedChess by ''[[spoiler:[[MoralEventHorizon breaking his unconscious teenage son's leg]]]]'' to throw the suspicion onto ''him'' instead.

* Subverted in ''{{Castle}}'': After having a big fight the night before, Beckett gives Castle a frosty reception when he shows up at her desk the next day. Castle claims he's looking for his sunglasses. Beckett sneers that that has to be the lamest excuse she's ever... she doesn't get to finish, because Castle icily lifts his sunglasses off her desk and shows them to her, leaving her with some egg on face.

* ''AreYouBeingServed'''s Mr Lucas tries to fake being sick so he can go watch a movie. Among other things, he tries the trick of sticking soap in his mouth. It was supposed to go under his tongue, but he swallowed it instead. He persuades Captain Peacock to send for the medical staff, as bubbles from his hiccups float by, prompting Captain Peacock to add:

->-''[[http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/09/four-levels-of-social-entrapment.html Hyperbole and a Half]]

* On ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan,'' [[spoiler:Norman Osborn]] realizes that [[spoiler:Spider-Man suspects that he's the Green Goblin, so he fakes hurting his leg in a battle so that when Spider-Man saw him as Norman he would be thrown off the trail]]. Shortly after, he manages a quick bit of XanatosSpeedChess by ''[[spoiler:[[MoralEventHorizon breaking his unconscious teenage son's leg]]]]'' to throw the suspicion onto ''him'' instead.

* ''{{Guttersnipe}}'' features [[http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5591997 this rather impressive case]]:

See also the WoundedGazelleGambit, a Lame Excuse used to get someone else in trouble.

* In WilliamFaulkner's AsILayDying, the father Anse claims he can't maintain his crops because sweating will kill him. It's not clear whether he actually believes this or is just using it to get out of work.

* The Dead Parrot sketch from MontyPythonsFlyingCircus is a good example that a bizarrely large segment of the audience misses. [[strike: Graham Chapman]] Michael Palin knows the parrot is dead, so virtually everything he says is a LameExcuse.

* In an episode of the TheMuppetShow, Ms Piggy asks one of the other members of the cast to watch her dog while she's out on the stage. Each person there proceeds to invent a lame excuse to fob the task onto someone else.
** Possibly subverted with Gonzo's excuse "Oh My God! I left an anvil in the oven!", as given the nature of some of his acts, his excuse might actually have been true. Though the question of what he was planning to do with [[{{NoodleImplement}} a freshly baked anvil]] was never answered.

* In the Rooster Teeth Short 'Catch', Matt tries to reverse the order they throw the ball in, because he's sick of baseballs being thrown at his head by Nathan. Joel insists they can't switch because the rotation of the earth doesn't allow for it.
* Also in a Rooster Teeth creation, [[RedvsBlue Red vs Blue]], the character Caboose says, "I am allergic to things I do not want to do." The way he says it with complete seriousness might even suggest he believes it himself (his intelligence is certainly faulty enough for it to seem plausible to him).

* TheLeetWorld's Chet as he tries to avoid "black hole where fun goes to die" Asher:

* In ''TheSimpsons" Bart once tries "[[YouFailBiologyForever Oh, my ovaries]]!"

* On Family Guy, Peter Griffin constantly takes this UpToEleven: