核心畫面
You can picture excuse as the small social gesture of letting a fault slide. Someone has done something a little wrong — bumped you, been careless, can't make it — and you reach in and lift the blame off them, saying in effect 'that's all right, I won't hold it against you.' Everything else is a version of this: the reason that earns the release, the polite phrase that asks for it in advance, or the act of letting someone off a duty.
可以想成「把一個小過失輕輕抬起、放掉」這個動作。有人做了點小小不對的事——撞到你、不小心、來不了——你伸手把責任從他…更多收起
可以想成「把一個小過失輕輕抬起、放掉」這個動作。有人做了點小小不對的事——撞到你、不小心、來不了——你伸手把責任從他身上拿下來，等於說「沒關係，我不會計較」。其餘的用法都是這個畫面的變形：能換來這份「放掉」的理由、事先開口請求這份諒解的客套話、或准許某人不必盡某項義務。原始詞典資料7 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
excuseverb/ɪkˈskjuːz/
- 1
To forgive; to pardon; to overlook.
- I excused him his transgressions.
- Yet his Nature / In that’s no Changeling, and I muſt excuſe / What cannot be amended.
- 2
To allow to leave, or release from any obligation.
- May I be excused from the table?
- I excused myself from the proceedings to think over what I'd heard.
- 3
To provide an excuse for; to justify.
- You know he shouldn't have done it, so don't try to excuse his behavior!
- They cannot be excusyd By reason nor by law; […]
- 4
To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for.
- Agayne / thynke ye that we excuſe oure ſelves? we ſpeake in Chriſt in the ſight of God. But we do all thyngꝭ dearly beloved for youre edifyinge.
- It were more meet that thou didst accuse thy self, and excusedst thy Brother.
excusenoun/ɪkˈskjuːs/
- 1
An explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault.
- Tell me why you were late – and I don't want to hear any excuses!
- I had to make an excuse for being late to the meeting.
- 2
lawA defense to a criminal or civil charge wherein the accused party admits to doing acts for which legal consequences would normally be appropriate, but asserts that special circumstances relieve that party of culpability for having done those acts.
- 3
An example of something that is substandard or of inferior quality.
- That thing is a poor excuse for a gingerbread man. Hasn't anyone taught you how to bake?
- He's a sorry excuse for a doctor.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。