According to a recent survey, half of us have ended a date in the middle of it, because it wasn’t going well.
But obviously you can’t just tell the person you think they’re stupid. Or annoying. Or ugly. You have to pretend you really want to stay but can’t . . . then you just never return their phone calls after that.
But in case you can’t think of something to say, here are the five most popular excuses for ending a date early.
1. “There’s a family emergency.” Or maybe something happened to a friend. Whatever it is, it’s urgent and can’t wait.
2. “I’m suddenly not feeling very well.” If they chose the restaurant and you can blame it on the food, bonus.
3. “I feel a migraine coming on.” Which is pretty close to the last one. But women use the headache excuse so much, it deserves it’s own spot on the list.
4. “There’s a problem at work.” It’s harder to pull off if it’s nine at night. But it seems like people are constantly working now, so it probably still works.
5. “I forgot to take my dog out.” Or a variation, like you forgot to feed your cats. Which is pretty weak, but hopefully they’d get the hint and just never call you.