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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"I have to, uh... go get my foot measured."''
|'''Joe''', ''[[Wings (TV series)|Wings]]''}}
A type of [[Room Shuffle]] whereby a character volunteers some random reason for leaving a room, so that the remaining characters can talk amongst themselves. Usually of the mundane "Well, I'm off to work," "I think I'll call it a night," "Gotta use the head," "[[Going to
Sometimes said character needs to convince additional characters to follow them out, suggesting they [[Talk About That Thing]].
[[Go Look At the Distraction]] is the inverse of this, where the character says something intended to make the hearer leave the room. Can be used to [[Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone]].
Not to be confused with [[My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels]], or with [[Kick the Dog]]. Contrast with [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]. A string of these becomes a [[Hurricane of Excuses]]. Often invoked by a [[Secret Identity Change Trick|super-type who needs to change outfits]].
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Once [[Les Yay|Teana arrives to visit the hospitalized Subaru]] in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
* In ''[[School Rumble]]'', there is an episode where Eri, Mikoto, Akira, and Takeichi Fuyuki plot to have Tenma and Karasuma go out to eat curry. They suggest that all six of them go, but as they are on their way, they all make excuses to duck out, [[Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone|leaving Tenma and Karasuma alone.]]
* In ''[[
* Ahiru of ''[[Princess Tutu]]'' tries to do one of these, but...
{{quote|
* The girls of ''[[Powerpuff Girls Z]]'' had to come up with excuses when they were summoned. The first excuse was pretty understandable, but they would then degrade to these by the third one.
* [[Bleach]] plays with/subverts this; when everyone but Orihime want to leave class to stop hollows/arrancar/whatever the enemy of the ark is, they give excuses that could work if it was the first time (the teacher dosen't seem to mind, though). Orihime tells everyone the truth (not in a [[Sarcastic Confession]] way) about exactly what she's going to do, but since she imagined herself as a robot before she got spiritual powers, [[Lethal Chef|enjoys making horrific amalgamations of foodstuff]], and is just a general [[Cloudcuckoolander]], no-one believes her and thinks it's her imagination going crazy once more.
* ''[[Medabots]]'': When Ikki, Erika and Metabee pretended to be students of Rosewood Academy to sneak in there and the doorman asked why they weren't wearing their uniforms, the told the spilled caviar on it and their butler would bring them later. (It was a school for rich kids) The Screws tried the same excuse but their leader ruined it by stating they spilled caviar on their butler.
== [[Comedy]] ==▼
* [[Eddie Izzard]] loves these.▼
{{quote| Excuse me, my grandmother is on fire.<br />▼
My cat's exploded.<br />▼
I was dead at the time! I was on the moon! With Steve! }}▼
[[Dane Cook]] went pretty well with this in "Cheating"▼
{{quote| Dane's Wife/Girl friend: How did you get lost?<br />▼
Dane: Uhh..They Changed the roads! }}▼
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* In ''[[Marvel Adventures]] [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|Avengers]]'', the Avengers don't really want to talk to a prison warden, although he's actually pretty reasonable and friendly.
{{quote|
* In the "[[Everyone Meets Everyone|how they met]]" introduction to ''[[Phil Foglio|What's New]]'':
{{quote|
* Clark Kent does this a lot when looking for excuses to disappear and change into [[Superman]]. Fortunately, his disappearances often lead to him hitting a news story jackpot on whatever weird shit is going down in Metropolis, and just makes him seem like a [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]].
* In the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (
* In ''[[Scott Pilgrim]]'', Scott uses the not-even-trying version of this: "We have to go, uhh...thing the...thingy."
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* In ''[[Kyon
{{quote|
* In the ''[[Bleach]]'' fanfic, ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4110160/1/Things_Shinigami_are_not_allowed_to_do Things Shinigami are not allowed to do]'', one of the 'rules' is 'The following are awful and pathetic excuses for leaving a Captains' Meeting: I have to floss my otter. I have to wash my hair. My sugar daddy called me. My grandmother died. I'm having relationship troubles with my hamster. My dog is having kittens. My fish is drowning.'
* In the creatively titled NCIS fanfic ''Drabbles,'' the chapter "Sickly" is filled with these as characters try to avoid paperwork.
{{quote|
'''Ziva:''' I, ah . . . also need to be somewhere else. The director has personally requested that I . . . go somewhere else. Not here. Do you hear McGee calling for help? I hear him calling for help. I'll go help him. Somewhere else.
'''Tony:''' Eh, boss, I'm not feeling so good. I must becoming down with a serious case of . . . papertosis. }}
* In the ''[[Bleach]]'' fanfic ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5002293/1/A_Protectors_Pride A Protector's Pride]'', the main characters run out of class because of hollow attacks going on outside. They yell various excuses as they leave.
{{quote|
'''Ichigo:''' Family business.
'''Inoue:''' I'll go with him to make sure he's okay!
'''Ishida:''' I'll go make sure he doesn't hurt anyone.
'''Chad:''' [[Lampshade Hanging|Do you even want to know?]]
'''Teacher:''' ''(resigned)'' [[Genre Savvy|No, no I don't. Just go.]] }}
* Used in the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
{{quote|
'''Fluttershy''': It does. Wouldn't you know it? I have to go feed my...bed!
'''Twilight''': I have to go wash my books!
'''Fluttershy''': So many important things!
''both disappear at maximum speed, blushing furiously and wishing the ground would open and swallow them'' }}
* ''[[
** [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
{{quote|
'''Phoenix:''' Hey! No they aren't! There are still five minutes left!... She's gone... }}
** Spike after Twilight catches him [[Right Behind Me|calling her a total nerd]].
{{quote|
== [[Film]] ==
* In ''[[American Psycho]]'', Patrick Bateman declares at several serious moments that he has to "return some videotapes."
* The Abominable Snowman, ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'' "Oh, look, we're out of snowcones..."
* In ''[[
** The first time actually works as a pretty good gag when he ''does'' [[Crowning Moment of Funny|come back with a ladder!]]
* In ''[[
* In the film ''[[The Wedding Planner]],'' self-appointed matchmaker Penny must contrive a reason to abandon the leads at a movie. "I just remembered that I promised my friend's brother's godmother that I would help her change her fax cartridge because she's going out of town tomorrow...on an African safari!"
* Ian Hawke does this in a cruelly apathetic fashion in ''[[Alvin and the
* In the sixth ''[[Harry Potter (film)|Harry Potter]]'' film (and also in the book), Dumbledore uses this method to leave Harry alone with Professor Slughorn so as to persuade him to return to Hogwarts
* ''[[Dirty Work]]'': "I have to go...lift weights. ''[[Lampshade Hanging|What]]?!''"
* In ''[[Better Off Dead]]'', Lane uses one of these to get away from a tenacious paperboy.
* In ''[[National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation]]'' this is played more or less straight by Rusty, who isn't making up excuses to allow his parents to talk, he just wants the hell outta the situation. "I gotta get to bed. I still gotta brush my teeth, feed the hog, still got some homework to do, still got those bills to pay, wash the car..."
* In ''[[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]'', we see a [[Wheel of Fortune]] -esque wheel of various flimsy excuses in Scott's head, and the needle [[Heads
* ''[[She's the Man]]'': When caught in an awkward moment with Olivia and "Sebastian" (
* In ''[[The House of Yes]]'', Jackie finds out her [[Twincest|twin brother has a fiancée]], prompting her to laugh hysterically and claim she has to go brush her hair.
* Michele from ''[[Romy and
* In ''[[
{{quote|
'''Alvy Singer''': Right. Well, I have to - I have to go now, Duane, because I, I'm due back on the planet Earth.
* In ''[[Shallow Hal]]'', Mauricio sees Hal dancing with three unattractive women in a dance bar and decides to "rescue" him:
{{quote|
* ''[[Monty
== [[Literature]] ==
* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' book, ''[[
** Then when she turns out to have been eavesdropping the whole time, she cheerfully explains that the stone wasn't ''that'' interesting.
* In [[Jane Austen]]'s ''[[Mansfield Park]]'', Tom Bertram ([[Values Dissonance|rudely]]) sits down next to the heroine, Fanny, making it clear he doesn't want to dance. Cue his mother coming over and asking him to play cards with her and his aunt. Tom, unfortunately, must decline because he was just about to dance with Fanny.
** And in ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'', it's done by Mrs. Bennett to Kitty and Elizabeth after her non-verbal hints to [[Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone]] fail (due to Lizzy refusing to take the hint and Kitty being too oblivious to understand it).
* In [[Christopher Moore]]'s ''[[
* The protagonist of ''Please Remove Your Elbow from My Ear'', desperate to get off the phone with his crush before he makes a fool of himself, makes a fool of himself when the best excuse he can come up with is that his cat's head is on fire (he doesn't own a cat). Played with in that [[Dramatic Irony|she's crushing on him too]], specifically ''because'' [[Geeky Turn On|he says weird things all the time]].
* In one of the original [[Winnie the Pooh]] stories, Piglet absolutely has to go and do... something... that only he can do... and that has to be done right now!
* In ''[[Harry Potter and
* ''[[
▲== [[Live Action TV]] ==
▲* ''[[Whos the Boss]]'', "The Prodigal Son In Law": Jonathan asks Mona to help him with his homework as an excuse for the two to go upstairs, so that Tony can talk to Samantha about a family relative who has been sent to jail.
* ''[[Keen Eddie]]:'' Various versions of this were used by Insp. Monty Pippin, as an excuse to escape the room after Eddie sasses their scary, Dracula-esque boss. It never works for him, though.
* Occurs several times in ''[[Friends]]'':
** One particular example, when Ross goes to Monica and Chandler's to get a tie:
{{quote|
'''Monica''': What!? You faked it?
'''Ross''': You know what? I don't need a tie. I mean, it's better, open collar. You know, it's more casual (He leaves.) }}
** The rest of the gang has to leave during an awkward moment with Monica and her (recently ex) boyfriend.
{{quote|
'''Chandler:''' I thought that was just a rumor! }}
** Later on, they all return while the two are still talking:
{{quote|
** Chandler is confronted with an awkward question
{{quote|
** And the former [[Trope Namer]]:
{{quote|
** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by Chandler after he and Joey went to the bathroom together during a fight between Ross and Monica:
{{quote|
'''Chandler:''' I really hope [[Ho Yay|he does]]. }}
** When Chandler has dug himself into a hole during a conversation with Monica:
{{quote|
* ''[[Sesame Street]]'': At one point, Luis was [[Hypno Fool|hypnotized]] into [[Superhero Episode|becoming a superhero]] whenever he heard a bell. He'd get this zoned-out look on his face and say something like "I think I left the cat on."
** I recall a slightly different scenario, when Luis had a [[Secret Identity|"secret" identity]] as [[Affectionate Parody|Señor Zero,]] and when he left when someone said the word zero he'd come up with one of these. The one I remember was, "I have to go answer my television."
* Desperate to escape the affections of a pair of swingers, the eponymous character of ''[[
* The ''[[That '70s Show]]'', episode "Pinciotti vs. Forman" has Eric set Bob on Donna so everyone will want to stay with him. When he catches up to everyone at the end, Hyde (a guy who hates the government) says he has to register for the draft, Jackie says "Me too!", Eric says he has to count his G.I. Joes, and Donna will be in the oven.
** Another one was during an awkward moment with the Foreman family, when Donna, cups her ear, and yells "What's that dad? I'll be right there!" and runs out of the kitchen as fast as she can.
{{quote|
* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' claims to be an ardent fan of [[Daytime Drama Queen|daytime soaps]] partly to use it as an excuse to stop dealing with people.
** Like the above, not quite a straight example, but another episode featured this exchange:
{{quote|
'''House''': To get a $400 buttplug.
''Later in the conversation...''
'''Cameron''': Where are you going?
'''House''': The buttplug was my way of saying "None of your business." Apparently too subtle. }}
** "There's a lot of porn on the Internet, and it's not gonna download itself."
Line 145 ⟶ 132:
* This was a running gag on ''[[Lois and Clark|Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman]]'', as Clark used weak or outlandish excuses to justify leaving the room so he could change into his costume.
* Richard Hammond resorted to this on ''[[Top Gear]]'' to not drive the Gumpert Apollo upside-down in a wind tunnel.
{{quote|
* ''[[NCIS]]'': "... And I'm going to do that ... after I get ... a Nutter Butter ..." * eyeroll* * exit*
** From the same character: "I'm gonna go... get a haircut."
** Another episode has Tony and Ziva trying to get out of helping [[It Makes Sense in Context|Palmer put ointment on his back]], while running away.
{{quote|
'''Ziva''': [[Brutal Honesty|I have to get the hell out of here.]] }}
* Similar, but not exact: In one episode of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' various characters had excuses such as kel'no'reem (Teal'c) important translation (Daniel) writing a report (Sam) and... something important (Jack).
* Lords Topper and Smedley, explaining why they can't go to [[Vive La Revolution|Revolutionary France]] with [[
{{quote|
'''Smedley''': Oh, dem! I'm the best man! }}
** Played with in the Comic Relief special "The Cavalier Years" where it's not an excuse to leave, but rather an explanation Baldrick makes up to Charles I explaining why Blackadder can't comfort him before his execution.
{{quote|
* UK Comedy ''[[The Fast Show]]'' created an entire recurring sketch around a variant of this. A particularly dim character would be involved in a conversation or situation that was above his head. He'd inevitably burst in towards the end and spoil the illusion that he was one of them by saying something stupid. And then immediately announce [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3OM2MA1pic "I'll get me coat."]
* In a ''[[Buffy]]'' novel, Xander once excused himself from a conversation like so:
{{quote|
** A variation figures in the episode "Dopplegangland", where Willow still feels weirded out by her encounter with her vampire counterpart when Buffy asks if she'd like to meet her at the Bronze:
{{quote|
** "Something Blue": Under a spell, Buffy tells Riley that she is marrying Spike. Flustered, Riley responds "It's late. And I'm very tired. So I'm just going to go far away and be...away."
** "Tabula Rasa". Willow and Tara are having an argument; Xander and Anya make themselves scarce.
{{quote|
'''Anya:''' I'm gonna help you with that. }}
* [[Eddie Izzard]]: "I...am just going...to go...to the Bahamas...I left my...cat in the...refrigerator there..."
Line 171 ⟶ 158:
* ''[[The Amanda Show]]'' had a lot of these to end Amanda's closing monologue. One I remember in particular is "I gotta go water my lobsters!"
** ...which actually made some sense in the context of the show. Compare "I have to go alphabetize my sister!"
** ... not to mention "I have to go bodyslam my grandmother."
* On an episode of ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', Gonzo tries to get out of looking after Miss Piggy's dog by claiming "Oh my god! I left an anvil in the oven!". Of course, this being [[Cloudcuckoolander|Gonzo]], it's entirely possible he actually had left an anvil in the oven.
* In an episode of the Singaporean sitcom ''[[Under One Roof]]'', a sleazy university professor makes several advances towards Denise, who stammers "I left my iron on in my...car."
* During one episode of ''[[Greg the Bunny]]'':
{{quote|
* In ''[[My Name Is Earl]]'' while Earl and Randy's Mom is talking to Randy [[Too Much Information|about bad sex with their dad,]] Randy throws a beer bottle against the wall and goes "Oh, look, we're out of beer. I'll get some more."
* It's a [[Running Gag]] in ''[[Frasier]]'' that whenever Niles feels awkward enough that he has to leave the room, he'll make up some excuse about a patient he has to see, whose malady is usually tangentially related to the situation at hand.
** Once, Martin excuses himself from Lilith's presence by saying, "Time to go... practice my signature."
* On ''[[3rd Rock
{{quote|
'''Dick''': [[Does Not Understand Sarcasm|Can't you reschedule it?]] }}
** Played for laughs in another episode, in which Tommy and his girlfriend want to talk alone and everyone makes up an excuse to leave, except for Harry, who stays on the couch:
{{quote|
'''Harry''': I'm just delaying my exit to make it seem more natural. ''(slowly wakes up and leaves)''. }}
* Played for drama on ''[[Mad Men]]'' when [[The Hypotenuse|Henry Francis]] comes to see Betty at home in the middle of the day, and her housekeeper Carla sees them. They're just standing there talking to each other, so it should be easy to cover up the romantic undertones, but Betty's a [[Bad Liar]] and completely botches her attempt. At the end of the scene she claims she left the bathtub running and heads upstairs... leaving the basket of laundry she just brought down.
* On ''[[Wings (TV series)|Wings]]'', Joe and Brian are competing to get Helen a better birthday gift, but neither wants to be overt about his intentions. At one point, Joe decides his current gift is inadequate and wants to leave to go buy a better gift without letting Brian know what he's up to.
{{quote|
'''Brian''': Joe, this wouldn't be another of your clever fibs, would it?
'''Joe''': (''long pause'') No. }}
* In an episode of ''[[The Monkees]]'', the four boys have fallen in love with the same girl and want to get away from the apartment to go see her. Micky suddenly declares that his aunt is ill and leaves. Mike announces he is going to the store to get dog food. When informed that they don't have a dog, he says that he'll pick up a dog too while he's out. Davy announces a desire to become a boxer and leaves immediately to start doing road work. Peter, who has believed every excuse, isn't sure what to do now that he's all alone, and decides without a hint of irony that he'll go visit the girl.
* In the season 2 opener of ''[[Castle]]'', Ryan and Esposito excuse themselves from the room to let Castle and Beckett talk in private by saying they have to go do "[[Buffy-Speak|that thing with the guy]]", repeating the above conversation almost verbatim.
{{quote|
'''Esposito''': ...No?
'''Ryan''': Yeah, you know, that thing with that guy?
'''Esposito''': ''Oh.'' Yeah. The thing with the guy.
'''Ryan''': Excuse us. }}
** In "Nikki Heat" Beckett finds herself embroiled in a teeth-grindingly awkward conversation (from her point of view) with Natalie Rhodes, the actress portraying the character based on her, about how Rhodes needs to sleep with Castle because of the relationship Castle wrote between Beckett's character and his own [[Author Avatar]]. It gets to the point where Rhodes has completely deconstructed the [[Everyone Can See It|relationship between Beckett and Castle]] and is begging Beckett to give Castle 'permission' to sleep with her that Beckett feels the need to flee:
{{quote|
* When [[Mystery Science Theater 3000|Tom Servo]] has something backfire on him with Mike, he tells him, "Look! A huge distracting thing!" and runs off.
** In another episode, when Crow and Servo want to get away from Mike, Crow says "We need to go... feed the cat. Well, get a cat, then... feed it."
* ''[[Strangers
* ''[[A Bit of Fry and Laurie]]'''s vox pops had [[Stephen Fry]] in drag realizing he'd left the iron on, and in non-drag saying his wife was being towed away.
* ''[[Covert Affairs]]'' had Auggie left with Jai after accidentally insulting him. He makes his escape by saying "I'm going to do... anything else."
* In the ''[[
* In an episode of ''[[Victorious]]'', Beck doesn't even bother coming up with an excuse: (wandering toward door) "I...have to go..."(walks out)
** Tori also claims in another episode that "I just got a text, I have to go pee.",
** When Robbie asks the others if they think his blog is boring:
{{quote|
'''Cat''': It is that guy . . .
'''Andre''': Wait up guy!
'''[[Deadpan Snarker|Jade]]''': (getting up) There's no guy. }}
* ''[[
* On ''[[
* In the French political satire ''[[Les Guignols De L Info]]'', president Jacques Chirac used to give really silly excuses to run ("My hips need a liposuction" -- yes, ''that'' silly) when he needed to put on his Super Liar (Superman's parody) suit before answering embarrassing questions. Other characters were too [[Genre Blind]] to guess Super Liar's secret identity.▼
** Played straight and then subverted in the episode "Margaret's Engagement"; everyone at the staff meeting in the mess tent know Margaret's engaged to someone else except Frank, who assumes he's getting promoted, so as soon as the meeting is over, Hawkeye says, "Why don't we all go into the den and watch TV
▲* On ''[[MASH|M*A*S*H]]'', Radar got himself out of a line of questions he didn't really wish to answer with a simple "Oh! I forgot!" and a quick exit.
▲** Played straight and then subverted in the episode "Margaret's Engagement"; everyone at the staff meeting in the mess tent know Margaret's engaged to someone else except Frank, who assumes he's getting promoted, so as soon as the meeting is over, Hawkeye says, "Why don't we all go into the den and watch TV. Except instead of leaving the mess tent, they merely move over to the other side of the room.
* On ''[[What About Brian]]'', Adam uses this to get out of an embarrassing moment (it just got out that {{spoiler|Adam secretly slept with Brian's sister}}):
{{quote|
'''Brian:''' It didn't ring!
'''Adam:''' I know. ''(leaves)'' }}
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Pie in
{{quote|
'''Henry:''' You just have.
'''Margaret:''' Then I'll sit and I'll tell them a story! }}
* In ''[[
* In one episode of ''[[Supernatural]]'', Sam uses this to leave Jo and Dean alone.
{{quote|
* In ''[[Burn Notice]]'' Madeline needs to get Sam to leave the room so Fiona and Michael can have a moment alone.
{{quote|
'''Sam:''' Oh no no, I've got one. Thanks, yeah, never leave home without it.
'''Madeline:''' Sam. You need a bottle opener. Why don't I show you where it is?
'''Fiona:''' *sigh*
'''Sam:''' Ok. Sure. Alright Madeline, where's the bottle opener? }}
* Perhaps the purest example of the trope, in ''[[
{{quote|
* In the second season of ''[[Felicity]]'', Felicity is dating David, a guy that her boss, Javier, doesn't trust. When David stops by the coffee shop while Felicity and Javier are talking, Javier makes an arch excuse to walk away.
{{quote|
* In an episode of ''[[Night Court]]'', Mac and Dan escape a private moment using the excuse:
{{quote|'''Mac''': I think we... need to register our... bowling ball pattern at Bloomingdale's.
'''Dan''': Oh! Right! Right!}}
* Terri Clark's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ScBNkXaJk I've Got Better Things To Do] is this mixed with a healthy dose of [[Take That]].
* Rawlins Cross's [http://rawlinscross.bandcamp.com/track/itll-have-to-wait It'll have to wait] also a line like:
{{quote|
There's a fire breathin' dragon burning down the castle gate
Your little broken heart'll just have to wait }}
* [[Lily Allen]]'s "Knock 'Em Out" includes "I've gotta go 'cos my house is on fire" as an excuse to give to an [[Abhorrent Admirer]]. Also:
{{quote|
"Why?"
Because I've lost my phone. }}
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
* In ''[[Dilbert|Dogbert's Clues for the Clueless]],'' the advice given to women who wish to turn down requests for dates is to give excuses whose implausibility and specificity should be relative to the guy's
** Dilbert himself was given the infamous excuse of [[I Have to Wash My Hair|"I need to wash my hair"]] when he asked a random woman on a date. When she suggests meeting him on some other day, his reply was, "I'll pass. I was hoping for someone with clean hair."
** And we can't forget "I'd love to, but...uh...I'm clinically dead. What you're seeing is merely the last few movements before I stiffen."
* In an early ''[[Pogo (
* Jon Arbuckle of ''[[Garfield]]'' was always hit with these when he asked certain women onto dates. At least, [[Relationship Upgrade|until Liz finally accepted him.]]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20120909040205/http://www.garfield.com/comics/vault.html?yr=2012&addr=120530 After Jon heard some noise], Garfield claimed Odie tripped and then he presented a piece of paper with some animal paw prints he claimed to be a sworn testimony claiming he was in Bolivia at the time.
* In ''[[Adam At Home]]'', Laura escapes a [[Motor Mouth]] by [http://www.gocomics.com/adamathome/2012/01/22 saying her llama is double-parked].
== [[Puppet Shows]] ==
▲* In the French political satire ''[[Les Guignols
== [[
▲* [[Eddie Izzard]] loves these.
* In ''[[Mamma Mia]]'', when Donna suddenly sees all three of her ex-boyfriends who could also be the father of her daughter she stammers something about cleaning out her handbag and hides. If I recall correctly, the exes aren't surprised ("Typical Donna!").▼
* At least one translation of ''[[Lysistrata (Theatre)|Lysistrata]]'' has a woman claiming to be going into labor as her excuse to leave, using a bronze helmet under her clothes as her "baby". Lysistrata proceeds to point out that she wasn't pregnant the day before.▼
▲I was dead at the time! I was on the moon! With Steve! }}
▲* [[Dane Cook]] went pretty well with this in "Cheating":
▲'''Dane:''' Uhh..They Changed the roads! }}
== [[Theatre]] ==
▲* In ''[[Mamma Mia!]]'', when Donna suddenly sees all three of her ex-boyfriends who could also be the father of her daughter she stammers something about cleaning out her handbag and hides. If I recall correctly, the exes aren't surprised ("Typical Donna!").
▲* At least one translation of ''[[
* ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' has Benedick, seeing Beatrice approaching, try to get an excuse from Don Pedro.
{{quote|
(When that doesn't work, however, he just leaves anyway.) }}
** Beatrice gets a successful out later in the same scene, when her conversation with Don Pedro gets awkward.
{{quote|
'''Beatrice:''' I cry you mercy, uncle. By your grace's pardon. ''[Books it]''. }}
* In ''[[The Music Man]]'', Harold Hill shows up to talk to Marian Paroo, and her mother, hoping the two will get together, immediately bows out:
{{quote|
'''Marian:''' There's no jelly on the stove, Mama.
'''Mrs. Paroo:''' Well, I'll ''put'' some on. }}
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In an old DOS game titled ''[[Crime City]]'', your character is able to vandalize the local church unless he runs into the local Priest, in which he case makes a clever retreat: "I have to go paint my dog!"
* In an early mission in ''[[The Simpsons Hit
* If other [[The Sims|Sims]] don't want to visit yours, they'll use rather incredulous excuses like "I have to feed my llama" or "My psychic advisor has forbidden me to leave the house today." Strangely, if they're already ''there'' and have to ''leave'', their excuses actually make sense, like "It's getting late."
** The French version includes "I need to water my turtle" and "watch my houseplants grow." Also when they refuse to keep talking to you because one of their "needs" gauge is full, they will usually say "I'm just too tired/hungry/etc for this," except it they need to go to the toilet. They'll say "I need to go put on some make-up" instead...
Line 289 ⟶ 287:
** "OMG BRB CATS ON FIRE" ... "OMG CAT SET CURTAIN ON FIRE" ... "OMG CURTAIN SET WIFE ON FIRE G2G"
* In ''[[Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsenal]]'':
{{quote|
* In ''[[Star
* Quoth you, in an [http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Deep_Inside_Ronald,_Baby_%28Pool%29 adventure] in [[Kingdom of Loathing]]: "I wish I could, but my grandmother's on fire, so I'll just be going."
== [[Web Animation]] ==
* ''[[
** On a more meta level, having come to the conclusion that his imagination is broken, Strong Bad ends an email with "I'm gonna go...place."
* There is a ''[[Resident Evil]]'' [http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/64772 parody] in which Brad, upon hearing about the killer zombie dogs, says the following: "Well, I just remembered that I left the, uh, oven on in the, uh, helicopter, and... [[Go Look At the Distraction|LOOK! BEHIND YOU!]] [[Monkey Island|A THREE-HEADED MONKEY!]]" He then proceeds to dash off, followed shortly after by the sound of a helicopter taking off.
** Subverted, in that Brad is trying to distract Wesker so he can flee. Wesker doesn't look away. Brad flees anyway.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'' [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=247
** And much later Annie "was just about to check on Renard". Or, [[The Rant|as Tom put it]], "She [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1482 just came in] to move that cup from the shelf to the counter."
* In an early ''[[
** Later, it is implied that she tried to create a diversion with "Aaaah, Mom, the duck is on fire!"
* [http://www.out-at-home.com/archives/303 I left my... house... running.] from ''[[
* [http://www.lackadaisycats.com/comic.php?comicid=86/ I think I left my hat in the car. I should go... be with my hat... in the car] from ''[[Lackadaisy Cats]]''.
* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'': [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0740.html Elan and Haley go back to their room to give their pet orangutan a bath].
** This is interpreted as an [[Is That What They're Calling It Now?]] for bonus points.
*** For extra [[Is That What They're Calling It Now?]] points, Haley is a redhead, approximately the same shade an orangutan would appear in this comic.
*** [[Rule of Three|And then]], having realized how his excuse is getting interpreted and that it's still considered an acceptable excuse:
{{quote|"[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0789.html Uh, Dad?] Haley and I need to go...uh...[[Subverted Trope|have sex]]."
* ''[[Anti-HEROES (Webcomic)|Anti-HEROES]]'' (a comic inspired by ''[[Order of the Stick]]'') has the not even trying version [http://antiheroescomic.com/comic/38 here] ▼
"Come on, V. And bring the cat, just in case."
"[[Dull Surprise|Huh]]."}}
▲* ''[[
* '' [[Wapsi Square]]'': [http://wapsisquare.com/comic/fair-enough/ a whole string before she announces she just does have to go]
* An extremely unsubtle example in [http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1156.php this] ''[[Dan and
* In ''[[
** {{spoiler|Susan}} [[Deadpan Snarker|of all people]]. "''I'm sorry, I have a thing on Friday at a place where I'll be preoccupied with some stuff that will unfortunately make it impossible for me to, uh...'' '''Bye!'''"
* In [http://www.thewotch.com/?date=2007-06-28 this comic] of ''[[The Wotch]]'', the heroes are at the mall, and Jason is present [[Gender Bender|as Sonja]]. Katie and Wolfie walk by Sonja and do a [[Double Take]] upon realizing who she really is, and Katie gets into an argument with him/her over how abnormal this is. A minute later, [[Bad Liar|Robin]] approaches with drinks, and Katie turns to him and demands, "Robin! ''You'' don't turn into a girl frequently for kicks, ''do'' you?" Robin immediately finds pressing business elsewhere: "Oh, gosh, I, uh, forgot straws! I'll just be off to get them..." [[Don't Explain the Joke|The drinks already had straws in them.]]
* ''[[Keychain of Creation]]'': [http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0180.html "My, look at the time! I need to go find my Keys."] Oddly, he really does...
* From ''[[Blip]]'': [
== [[Web Original]] ==▼
* In ''[[I'm a Marvel...
▲== Web Original ==
* ''[[
▲* In ''[[I'm a Marvel And Im ADC]]'', as [[X Men|Cyclops]] and [[Watchmen|Nite Owl]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMhn10cG_BU&feature=channel_page see the next event] ([[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|The Thing]] vs. [[Superman]]... [[Monsters vs. Aliens|Monster vs. Alien]]), Cyclops leaves with a bizarre excuse (that's also an in-joke): "Excuse me, I think I heard my girlfriend dying."
* "[[The Gamers|Look at that quaint and rustic architecture.
▲* ''[[Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]'' gives us the classic line, "Oh, goodness, look at my wrist. I've gotta go!" from the titular [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]]. [[Don't Explain the Joke|Because he's not wearing a watch...]]
** The speaker is a paladin [[GMPC]], and the protagonists need to utilize the [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]].
▲* "[[The Gamers|Look at that quaint and rustic architecture. ]][[Go Look At the Distraction|I should go investigate.]]"
▲** The speaker is a paladin [[GMPC]], and the protagonists need to utilize the [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]].
* ''[[Wedding Peach Abridged]]'': "Hmmm ... got to think of a lie."
* [[Desu Des Brigade|JesuOtaku]] has a review where [[Bennett the Sage]] manages to get her to watch ''[[Eiken]]'', much to her distress. By the time it's over, however, she says it wasn't ''that'' torturous... at which point Bennett pulls out ''Garzey's Wing.'' Her response? "Sorry, Sage, I can't hear you. I'm going through a tunnel... in the bathroom."
* [[Todd in
* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|Twilight Princess]]: [[The Abridged Series]]'', Shad, after finding the cannon, says that he loves the book so much.
{{quote|
* In the ''[[Season of the Witch]]'' episode of ''[[Luke Mochrie and The Inners|Film Conscience]]'', Ringo tries to avoid having to comment on the writing of the film by saying this:
{{quote|
* When [[
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Chickening-out version: the ''[[Horrible Histories]]'' animated program featured a smart-mouth jerk attempting to get out of Grecian-style wrestling by claiming to have sprained his ''oesophagus''.
* Parodied in ''[[Futurama]]''{{'}}s [[Superhero Episode]], where the three are in front of the mayor, who needs their superhero identities:
{{quote|
'''Bender''': As for me, I'm late for my L.S.A.T.'s
'''Fry''': And I can't take life anymore! ''(smashes out through the window, [[There Was a Door|and promptly smashes back in through another]])'' }}
** In another episode, an [[Alternate Universe]] version of Leela admits to using excuses involving things like ghosts or "sweaty boot rash" to reject Fry (now her husband)'s advances. This causes the regular Fry to remark "So that's why you you said you had to meet that ghost!"
** Finally, in
{{quote|
** In the old-timey cartoon part of "Reincarnation":
{{quote|
* ''[[Kim Possible]]'' "Overdue" Ron, likely remembering Kim wouldn't fall for the [[Fake Static]] brushes her off with:
{{quote|
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', when [[MacGyver|Richard Dean Anderson]] is being held prisoner by Patty and Selma and is forced to watch their boring slide show.
{{quote|
'''Patty/Selma''': You're not holding a coupon!
'''Richard''': ... [[MacGyver]] away! }}
** And, in "The Last Temptation of Krust," after Krusty asks how terrible his performance went:
{{quote|
'''Lisa''': Me too.
'''Homer''': I also have to go... {peeks back in} Boo! }}
** Homer needs a reason to excuse himself and spy on Lenny and Carl, something he'd promised not to do.
{{quote|
** And in 'Homer the Vigilante', after the Springfield cat burglar reveals where his loot's hidden:
{{quote|
'''Chief Wiggum''': Me too... I will also go home. For... sleep. }}
** And in "The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show", when Homer asks his family what they thought of his debut show:
{{quote|
'''Marge''': Yes we can. ''[They all run upstairs]'' }}
** When Bart is trying to ask Jessica Lovejoy out:
{{quote|
** When Homer tried to get out of paying a hospital bill after an accident with his leg, he shouted something about a bear and tried to run away despite his injured leg. The subversion is that there really was a bear.
* In the Canadian show ''[[Being Ian]]'', Mr Kelley is stuck in traffic with his sons while trying to deliver a piano to a client. He yells out the window of his car:
{{quote|
* In a ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon, "You Were Never Duckier," Daffy Duck impersonates a chicken in order to score a $5,000 cash prize at a poultry show, only to run [[A Worldwide Punomenon|afowl]] of Henery Hawk and his(huge) father. His reaction:
{{quote|
* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'''s excuses tend to be this. It's a wonder no one's found him out yet because of his dog-ironing.
* Todd from ''[[The Replacements]]'' once used "I left a pie in the washing machine."
* In one episode of ''[[Code Lyoko]]'', Ulrich apparently had to go "polish my flip flops".
* In the "Baloney and Kids" short in ''[[
** However, given how goodie-two shoes both kids were, including said girl saying she wishes she could marry school, its entirely likely that this was true.
* This trope became a [[Running Gag]] in the episode '[[Harry Potter|Nigel Planter]] and the Order of the Peanuts' in ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy
{{quote|
'''Billy:''' I left the iron on.
'''Mandy:''' [[Rule of Three|You're]] [[Brutal Honesty|weird.]] }}
* Carl on ''[[Jimmy Neutron]]'' says "My shoe's untied... OVER THERE!".
* In ''[[Family Guy]]'', Peter Griffin once backed out of a phone call with his wife by playing a recording of his wife telling him to take out the trash.
** Lois does this too after Peter gets plastic surgery making him a buff physically fit man, to the point she isn't even able to make a complete sentence.
* In the ''[[My Little Pony:
** Possibly played with also in "Boast Busters", when Spike makes a somewhat panicked exit after declaring that Twilight is the most magical unicorn in Ponyville while standing beside his crush Rarity who is also a unicorn, not giving an even remotely reasonable explanation but exclaiming: "Oh, um...*cough* Hey, Rarity...I...MUSTACHE!" immediately before darting off screen.
** In "Look Before You Sleep," both Rarity and Applejack try to get out of Twilight's slumber party (or rather, spending time with each other) by suddenly remembering pressing engagements. Rarity's is plausible but vague, but Applejack's is simply, "I'm powerful late for...something."
Line 390 ⟶ 388:
*** Although, this isn't an excuse. Fluttershy would rather stay, but she apparently does have to get to "the thing at the place," so Photo Finish pushes her out the door.
** In "Party of One", Rainbow Dash actually draws a wristwatch on her foreleg in order to have an excuse to say "Oh, look at the time!" and get out of explaining to Pinkie why she and Fluttershy can't attend her next party.
** In "Sweet And Elite" Rarity has a series of them whilst trying to make excuses so she can switch between a fancy Garden Party and Twilight Sparkle's Birthday Party. Whilst initially she goes with sensible ones like "I need the little filly's room" she runs out scenarios quickly and finally winds up just saying "I have to... to go to [[Buffy-Speak|the-to the thing with the... stuff, you know...]]"
* In an episode of ''[[Class of 3000]]'', Sunny ditches Kim so he can change into a superhero (don't ask) with the excuse "I gotta go... can some peaches."
* ''[[The Weekenders]]'' has Lor write a will in case she doesn't survive surgery on her knee. When Tish finds out Lor hasn't left anything to her, she hastily excuses herself, half-sobbing, "Oh no, I just remembered I promised my mother I would paint the lawn."
* In an episode of ''[[
** To get out of having sex with a drunk girl, Snot shouts out "I need to take a diarrhea."
* ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]'': when Kowalski is trying to conceal the fact that Skipper's DNA results are showing that he's female, he covers the results with his flippers and says "So, how about, uh ... that local sports team?"
* ''[[Megas XLR]]'': Jamie's date in "Dude, Where's My Head?" attempts to excuse herself from imminent crushing at the hands of Warmaster Gorath's evil takeoff of Megas:
{{quote|
* In an episode of ''[[
* In the ''[[Robot Chicken]]'' sketch "Mumm-ra is Mrs. Mumbletipeg", Mumm-ra [[Mrs. Doubtfire
{{quote|
* ''[[Camp Lazlo]]'': Raj says "Well, I'm off to get some chutney" when he sneaks off to his secret hot spring.
* ''[[Sym
* In ''[[Ugly Americans]]'', Callie desperately tries to find a reason to explain what her sister Lilith would be taking over for her without revealing that she was originally supposed to be betrothed to Twayne.
* On ''[[Jimmy Two
* [[Darkwing Duck]]
{{quote|
** This excuse is even more bizarre when you realize Darkwing Duck is a [[Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal]].
* The main character of [[The Legend of
{{quote|
* ''[[The Life and Times of Juniper Lee]]'': Juniper constantly needs to come up with excuses so he can solve magical emergencies. One of them was about forgetting her gym outfit. The problem with that excuse was that there were no gym classes the day she made it up. She then said there might be a pop quiz about kickball. [[Rule of Funny|Jody bought this and decided to prepare herself]].
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Inane Blabbering]]
[[Category:Room Shuffle]]
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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