A bad excuse is better than none proverb
If you offer an excuse regardless of how silly or ridiculous it is, it is more likely that others might accept it than no excuse at all.
You were absent from the meeting yesterday. A bad excuse is better than none!
A: I can't tell my mother that I lost the car key! B: Believe me! A bad excuse is better than none!
If you cover your back, you foresee you being accused of or blamed for bad consequences and do something to avoid that.
A common excuse for not being where one was meant to be the night before.