Excuse, cop-out, pretext, alibi; a flimsy justification, a way out. Derived from the prefix от- (away, off) and the slang verbal root маз- (from мазать / to smear, paint), which historically relates to “smearing over” or covering up a mistake, debt, or crime. In everyday speech, youth culture, and office slang, it is an incredibly common noun for an excuse or justification concocted to avoid responsibility, work, punishment, or an unwanted meeting (придумай какую-нибудь отмазку — “think up some kind of excuse”). It often implies that the reason given is insincere, fabricated, or flimsy. It can also appear as the verb отмазаться (to get off the hook, to excuse oneself).
Сначала «депутат» пытался сказать что-то умное, но под конец скатился до банальных отмазок («я этого не видел», «зжесь я не присутствовал», «этот вопрос к Московской мерии»)
At first, the “deputy” tried to say something intelligent, but in the end, he resorted to banal excuses (“I didn’t see that”, “I wasn’t present here”, “This question should be addressed to the Moscow City Hall”).
(gsurkov @ ЖЖ, 06/2010)
