Leave well enough alone

Cultural

If things are going tolerably well, leave them alone; your efforts to improve the situation may make things worse.

leave well enough alone Idioms

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.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She just couldn’t leave well enough alone.

From Literature

I wanted to say something back to Daisy but I figured that as long as Mama was in a good humor I had better leave well enough alone.

From Literature

Sometimes it’s best to just leave well enough alone.

From Los Angeles Times

Just because your ownership provided you with a $1.35-billion rotation does not guarantee that you will leave well enough alone.

From Los Angeles Times

He shrugged as if to say, “We just leave well enough alone.”

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023