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3. a bad carpenter blames his tools

a bad carpenter blames his tools

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a bad carpenter blames his tools

If someone performs a job or task poorly or unsuccessfully, he or she will usually lay the blame on the quality of his or her equipment, or other such external factors, rather than take responsibility for his or her own failure. The football player blamed the overinflated ball for costing his team the game, but as they say, a bad carpenter always blames his tools.

See also: bad, blame, tool