the dog ate my homework

the dog ate my homework

A hackneyed explanation for why one does not have their homework. A: "I can't tell my teacher that the dog ate my homework!" B: "Come on, a bad excuse is better than none."
See also: ate, dog, homework
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

(The) dog ate my homework

A poor excuse for something that someone has failed to do on time. (From an excuse a student might give for failing to turn in homework on time. Occurs in many variations.) The dog ate my homework, so I have nothing to turn in. (Used as an attributive.) Bob was late with his report and had nothing but his typical dog-ate-my-homework excuses.
See also: ate, dog, homework
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

dog ate my homework, the

A ridiculous and obviously prevaricating excuse for failing to meet an obligation. It dates from the late 1900s and is so well known that a Boston Globe headline for a book review of The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr played on it, “The Internet Ate My Brain” (June 6, 2010). A Washington Examiner column by Timothy P. Carney about a bill provision allowing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to accept late applications for patent extensions called it “The Dog Ate My Homework Act” (March 20, 2010).
See also: ate, dog
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • dog ate my homework
  • dog ate my homework, the
  • ate
  • avoid (someone or something) like the plague
  • avoid like the plague
  • avoid somebody/something like the plague
  • avoid someone/something like the plague
  • lower the boom (on someone or something)
  • lower the boom on
  • cock an ear/eye at somebody/something
References in periodicals archive
Only David Davis with his 'the dog ate my homework' approach to preparation and Dominic Raab, with his sudden realisation that Dover was a major ferry port, could begin to match the incompetence of "Failing Grayling".
Please, Parliament, let us all step back from this catastrophe; Robert Evans, chairman of Bridgend for Europe, looks back with horror at what he sees as the mistakes and sheer ineptitude of the Brexit process
(Sorry kids: 'The dog ate my homework,' just won't work in the fierce world of magazine publication).
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And also there was Darby from CBBC's The Dog Ate My Homework who popped in.
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To cite that as an excuse for United's drudgery would be about as credible as the dog ate my homework.
It looks like LVG's back at wheel as Reds stall
He went on to present CBBC's The Dog Ate My Homework before becoming the narrator for ITV2's Love Island in 2015 and in 2016 he was the presenter of CelebAbility which is returning to our screens.
It'sgreat beingthe voiceof Love Island .. you learn fromother people's mistakes; REALITY TELLY'S IAN PUTS WORDS TO SMASH SHOW; Scots presenter on his relationship with Laura Whitmore and the unbelievable stunts he puts celebs up to in his new series
Government officers frequently fail to attend judicial summons or do not deliver reports that have been requested, claiming all sorts of implausible reasons which have not yet reached the point of 'the dog ate my homework' but conceivably could.
Collision course
Hmm, that's a bit up there with "the dog ate my homework" for excuses.
Today's TV; Pick of the day
The Entertainment award is between All Round To Mrs Brown's, The Dog Ate My Homework and Robot Wars.
Boxing clever with our telly expert; I'd like to say 'You're fired' to every one of this year's Apprentice braggarts just like Phil and Holly probably wished they could have ejected Doctor Foster actor Bertie Carvel from the famous sofa
The English authorities often grant the odd hour here or there for "the dog ate my homework" excuses, but by and large if players are not signed by tomorrow, they are not coming unless they are the sort of out-ofcontract waifs and strays with which David Moyes did his bit to revive the spirit of Friends Reunited.
Window for buying players may be closing but there's still an exit route to Portugal
UP there with "the dog ate my homework" is the latest excuse on why Leicester City's players failed Claudio Ranieri.
LAME-EXCUSE FOXES CAN BURGER OFF
"I said 'I can't read it, it blew away' and it was like the old 'the dog ate my homework' excuse!" Abbey Clancy " Luckily, Abbey had a ghostwriter - Liverpool jounalist and novelist Debbie Johnson - so it was saved and this week it finally hits the shelves.
Abbey's a model author
Uh, have you never heard the excuse, "The dog ate my homework?"
The anatomy of a Lotto winner: From microwaved tickets to splashing cash on new hips for the wife; Where do Lotto winners live? How do they choose their numbers? And where do they keep that all-important winning ticket?
They rummaged deep into this week's favourite dictionary, flicked past "the dog ate my homework" and came up with "to hand deliver the package at that time would have cost more in wasted time and disruption than paying for its postage".
Blaming weather for road delays is really no excuse
T He went on to finish second in last year's final at just 14 years old, and he's since worked with the likes of Jason Manford and Vic Reeves, and on CBBC shows including The Dog Ate My Homework and 4 O'Clock Club.
Jack's got talent; Teen star at comedy club
It appears everyone's friend, the Internal Revenue Service, introduced the digital equivalent of "The dog ate my homework" when it claimed six computer hard drives "crashed" at roughly the same time after a Republican senator expressed interest in the details behind IRS delays in considering not-for-profit status for conservative-leaning groups in the run-up to the 2012 general election.
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