But I am a novelist, not a critic, and I can excuse myself from explication de texte on that ground.

但我是个小说家，不是批评家，对于我以此为根据而说明,我可以为自己找借口。

耶鲁公开课 - 1945年后的美国小说课程节选

What I realized I was doing is I was constantly making excuses for not working on it.

我意识到这么做,其实是一直在为自己不努力去做找借口。

斯坦福公开课 - Twitter之父Jack.Dorsey演讲：好奇和灵感的力量课程节选

they're setting up in advance to lose.

他们在输掉之前为自己找好借口。

耶鲁公开课 - 金融市场课程节选