Christ on a crutch
- idiom
- Offensive
:
[Ofensivo] excusa patética
- His explanation was just Christ on a crutch—no one believed it for a second.
Examples
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Relying on that old argument is like leaning on Christ on a crutch.
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Every time something goes wrong, he blames bad luck, but that's just Christ on a crutch again.
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Using that excuse is just like saying Christ on a crutch.
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He always has a Christ on a crutch for not finishing his work.
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Every time something goes wrong, he blames bad luck, but that's just Christ on a crutch again.
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His explanation was just Christ on a crutch—no one believed it for a second.
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He always has a Christ on a crutch for not finishing his work.
Synonyms
A weak reason someone gives to avoid blame
Antonyms
30
3.9
An argument with good evidence and clear reasons that is likely to convince people
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'crutch' evokes the familiar metaphor of support or dependence and a learner who knows 'Christ' and 'crutch' might guess a meaning related to reliance, the full sense—an idiomatic, culturally specific judgement that something is a weak excuse or shows excessive dependence—is not directly derivable. The religious reference and the particular evaluative nuance make the expression partially but not fully predictable to a B1 learner, so it should be treated as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Christ on a crutch may come from a simple image. Imagine even Christ leaning on a crutch, so the help or excuse looks weak and a bit ridiculous. That's why people use it for 'a weak or useless excuse' or for 'being too dependent'.