hole in the head
- idiom
- Informal
:
excusa absurda
- His story about missing the meeting was just a hole in the head and nobody believed him.
Examples
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She told me another hole in the head to explain why she hadn't finished her work.
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That's just a hole in the head excuse!
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You must think I was born yesterday if you expect me to accept that hole in the head as a reason.
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I can't believe you used that hole in the head argument.
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That excuse was as useful to me as a hole in the head.
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When he said he was too busy to help, I knew it was just a hole in the head.
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Using the weather as a reason for not coming was a classic hole in the head.
Synonyms
A false story someone gives to avoid blame
A false or silly story people tell to avoid blame
A weak reason someone gives to avoid blame
A weak, unconvincing reason someone gives for not doing something
A weak reason used so often people no longer believe it
Antonyms
How Foolish
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'hole', 'in', and 'head' would most likely interpret this literally (a physical gap in the head) and would not predict the idiomatic sense 'a foolish or senseless excuse.' The expression is an idiomatic, metaphorical extension that does not follow a clear compositional logic and is not directly derivable from its parts, so it is not transparently understandable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Hole in the head comes from a clear picture: nobody would want a hole in their head, so saying you 'need' something like that sounds silly. That's why people use it to mean 'a foolish or untrue reason'.