Leave well enough alone
If things are going tolerably well, leave them alone; your efforts to improve the situation may make things worse.
Words Nearby Leave well enough alone
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
How to use Leave well enough alone in a sentence
He shook his head unhappily as he said, "Why can't you leave well-enough alone?"
Highways in Hiding | George Oliver SmithSince we are making a fairly good thing of it as we stand, why not Leave well enough alone?
I Walked in Arden | Jack CrawfordFor that, for security and the right not to think, most people were willing to Leave well enough alone.
Badge of Infamy | Lester del ReyStifling my au revoir impulse I decided to Leave well enough alone by taking that "Good-bye" literally.
Down the Yellowstone | Lewis R. FreemanBetter Leave well enough alone and quit the spot before he committed himself.
The Chief Legatee | Anna Katharine Green
Other Idioms and Phrases with Leave well enough alone
Also, let well enough alone. Do not try to change something lest you make it worse. For example, This recipe has turned out fine in the past, so leave well enough alone. The idea behind this expression dates from ancient Greek times, specifically Aesop's fable about a fox who refused a hedgehog's offer to take out its ticks lest, by removing those that are full, other hungry ones will replace them. Put as let well alone from the early 1700s, it was first recorded as let well enough alone in 1827. Also see let sleeping dogs lie.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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