poor/sad/sorry excuse for

idiom

: 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

Therein lies cantaloupe’s big problem: The chasm between sweet, succulent melon and a sad, sorry excuse for the fruit is wide, with the potential for disappointment lurking in each produce aisle. —The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2025

My back hurt from that sad excuse for a chair (seriously, who designs dining chairs to feel like medieval torture devices?). —Renae Gregoire, Forbes.com, 27 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

Anthony Gigantiello Go with her Brooklyn: Donald Trump is a poor excuse for a human being. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 31 July 2024

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

Now our once-proud, now poor excuse for a union has chosen to divide us. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 23 May 2024

But in my opinion, the difficulty of these challenges would be a very poor excuse for not facing up to them. —IEEE Spectrum, 25 Aug. 2017

Joe Biden, John Fetterman and their loved one's should not waste a moment on Carlson's passive-aggressive, bullying nonsense, a poor excuse for a human being, with no excuse for being so. —Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2023