Related Clues

• Rationalization
• "The dog ate my homework," e.g.
• Any of this puzzle's theme entries
• Cover story
• "The dog ate my homework," for one
• Forgive
• "I forgot" isn't a good one
• It may be poor
• "My alarm didn't go off," e.g.
• Pardon
• Alibi
• "The dog ate my homework," perhaps
• It may be lame
• Pretext
• Overlook
• Justification
• Let go
• Let off the hook
• Overlook tip of extremely cross-sounding waiters
• Condone