What's in an excuse?
Excuses. Right now, as soon as you read that word in your mind, you connected a vibe with it which I am willing to bet was not a positive one. Then there are the all too familiar phrases with that word – making excuses, being excused, having an excuse and such. The vibe, while not necessarily negative, wouldn't be called positive either. And I started to wonder why that is.
Let's first take a look at the dictionary definition of the word 'excuse':
As a verb
1. Seek to lessen the blame attaching to (a fault or offence); try to justify.
2. Release (someone) from a duty or requirement.
As a noun
1. A reason or explanation given to justify a fault or offence.
2. an excuse for - A poor or inadequate example of.
Now, from what I interpret, an excuse is the answer to the question regarding why something didn't go right. It is a reason. The reason in itself is not negative, but it explains why the outcome was negatively affected. Yet, it is used in the context most commonly to try and remove blame from something, irrespective if the blame is accurate or not.
But because of the context, it is often with the assumption that the person who was unable to deliver the desired outcome is wholesomely at fault. Well, let me make it a bit clearer by including my personal perspective on the matter and why I followed this train of thought.
I make a lot of mistakes and a lot of times I'm not able to carry out a plan or a responsibility because other factors left me unable to do so. Obviously, a lot of this pertains to work situations, and in those situations, I have come to grow weary of the questions and statements like "What's your excuse?" or "Stop making excuses" or "You have an excuse for everything." Now, if I was trying to shy away from taking responsibility for a mistake, I'd understand the negative tone. However, most frequently, it's a result of circumstance that is not in my control, that certain outcomes were not attained.
So, my reasonings or explanations, valid as they may be, get labelled as excuses. And like the way we started this post, the word 'excuses' has a negative vibe and leaves one with an unpleasant sensation. Thus, I began to ponder, WHY are reasons and explanations sometimes labelled as excuses. Why being justified, or having a valid justification is still referred to as an excuse.
Looking at the definition, it is understandable why the word 'excuse' is used in that manner. But it also highlights that the negative tone implied when the word is most often used by people, especially in professional environments is often not valid. But then maybe, the word excuse should be used appropriately after evaluation of reasons given.
Of course, it does help to understand the word better when you look into its origins, and that is the case with this word too. Here's a simple illustration to show the origin of the word 'excuse':
As can be seen, going back as far as possible here, it is basically getting out of an accusation or distancing oneself from a cause. But again, returning to why we're going through this in the first place, having an excuse isn't a negative word unless deemed so by the circumstances.
So next time, some fool calls your explanation or reasoning an excuse, try and remember they are not inaccurate but simply using the wrong tone of the word. Or, as is more often the case, simply being dicks.
I hope my brief investigation into the word 'excuse' was mildly interesting to you as well. Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts or suggestions.
Let's first take a look at the dictionary definition of the word 'excuse':
As a verb
1. Seek to lessen the blame attaching to (a fault or offence); try to justify.
2. Release (someone) from a duty or requirement.
As a noun
1. A reason or explanation given to justify a fault or offence.
2. an excuse for - A poor or inadequate example of.
Now, from what I interpret, an excuse is the answer to the question regarding why something didn't go right. It is a reason. The reason in itself is not negative, but it explains why the outcome was negatively affected. Yet, it is used in the context most commonly to try and remove blame from something, irrespective if the blame is accurate or not.
But because of the context, it is often with the assumption that the person who was unable to deliver the desired outcome is wholesomely at fault. Well, let me make it a bit clearer by including my personal perspective on the matter and why I followed this train of thought.
I make a lot of mistakes and a lot of times I'm not able to carry out a plan or a responsibility because other factors left me unable to do so. Obviously, a lot of this pertains to work situations, and in those situations, I have come to grow weary of the questions and statements like "What's your excuse?" or "Stop making excuses" or "You have an excuse for everything." Now, if I was trying to shy away from taking responsibility for a mistake, I'd understand the negative tone. However, most frequently, it's a result of circumstance that is not in my control, that certain outcomes were not attained.
So, my reasonings or explanations, valid as they may be, get labelled as excuses. And like the way we started this post, the word 'excuses' has a negative vibe and leaves one with an unpleasant sensation. Thus, I began to ponder, WHY are reasons and explanations sometimes labelled as excuses. Why being justified, or having a valid justification is still referred to as an excuse.
Looking at the definition, it is understandable why the word 'excuse' is used in that manner. But it also highlights that the negative tone implied when the word is most often used by people, especially in professional environments is often not valid. But then maybe, the word excuse should be used appropriately after evaluation of reasons given.
Of course, it does help to understand the word better when you look into its origins, and that is the case with this word too. Here's a simple illustration to show the origin of the word 'excuse':
As can be seen, going back as far as possible here, it is basically getting out of an accusation or distancing oneself from a cause. But again, returning to why we're going through this in the first place, having an excuse isn't a negative word unless deemed so by the circumstances.
So next time, some fool calls your explanation or reasoning an excuse, try and remember they are not inaccurate but simply using the wrong tone of the word. Or, as is more often the case, simply being dicks.
I hope my brief investigation into the word 'excuse' was mildly interesting to you as well. Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts or suggestions.
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