poor/sad/sorry excuse for

phrase

: a poor example of

He's a sad excuse for a father.

This is a poor excuse for a term paper.

That pile of junk is a sorry excuse for a car!

Examples of poor/sad/sorry excuse for in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What a sad letter, and what a poor excuse for a husband and father. — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2025

The rest was car lots, strip clubs and tattoo parlors, chain restaurants, and a sad excuse for a mall. — Literary Hub, 21 May 2025

Translation error is a poor excuse for a player who's not new to the league. — Ali Rampling, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025

Stuck at your desk, working from home, eating a sad excuse for a midday meal? — Joan Niesen, Washington Post, 18 June 2024