15

Is there an idiom/word/proverb that says not to change a perfectly good thing or something that works?

Void
  • 18,058
  • 7
  • 75
  • 107
JChips
  • 159
  • 1
  • 4

11 Answers11

86

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (informal)

If it isn't broken, don't try to fix it.

Edit: You could leave out "try to" (I've heard it both ways), but the point of the proverb is that if you try to fix something that isn't broken, you won't be successful.

Community
  • 1
user3169
  • 31,147
  • 2
  • 28
  • 57
  • 21
    Definitely heard "don't fix it" a LOT more than "don't try to fix it". Expression definitely sounds American in origin but it's permeated quite well; I would definitely expect it to be understood if I said it here in Britain. – Muzer Aug 04 '21 at 14:30
  • 65
    To be clear, the idiom is the sentence "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I've never heard anyone say "if it isn't broken, don't try to fix it," and it would probably sound kind of funny if someone actually said that. – Tanner Swett Aug 04 '21 at 16:12
  • 1
    I ain't sure I could manage that. shudders. "If it isn't broken, don't fix it" certainly common in UK. Also (I'm not sure if this is just a BrE thing?) just the first part "if it isn't broken.." in the usual way. – OJFord Aug 04 '21 at 20:25
  • 18
    "If it ain't broke, fix it until it is." – Mark Aug 04 '21 at 22:07
  • 9
    I'm not sure that the point of the proverb is that you won't be successful; rather it's that there's a risk that in trying to fix it you will break it, and since it's working fine as-is, there's little point in taking that risk. – Jeremy Friesner Aug 04 '21 at 22:34
  • Another 2 variant forms "If it works, don't [try to] fix it". Spoken as advice, it's almost always "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". – nigel222 Aug 05 '21 at 10:02
  • 20
    The wording “ain’t broke” is intentional. It’s meant to sound like advice handed down from an uneducated Southern American farmer. In other words, stop overthinking it and use common sense. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-it.html

    The phase “ain’t broke” ain’t broke; don’t fix it.

     – Patrick McElhaney Aug 05 '21 at 12:10
  • @PatrickMcElhaney Love your two bits! It's also interesting how "ain't" is considered uneducated, but when you start learning English, you will learn the normal grammar types way, way earlier than when you willl start stumbling upon slangs, or maybe just focusing on songs/tv. – George Menoutis Aug 05 '21 at 13:03
  • 1
    Tanner Swett: So the idiom is self-referential:-) – gnasher729 Aug 05 '21 at 16:22
  • There's always this flowchart, which, despite being labeled NSFW, I first saw at work (on a construction site). – ulatekh Aug 05 '21 at 17:43
  • 1
    @ulatekh Although quite funny in a generic way, that flowchart often explains why bridges fail, road guardrails can't withstand an impact, and buildings suddenly collapse. – End Anti-Semitic Hate Aug 07 '21 at 07:10
  • @RockPaperLz-MaskitorCasket: So you agree, my response was educational. LOL – ulatekh Aug 12 '21 at 21:15
  • 1
    @ulatekh Definitely! :) As long as people see it as a visual representation of problematic behaviour and not a flowchart for recommended or acceptable behaviour. – End Anti-Semitic Hate Aug 17 '21 at 00:34
33

"Leave well enough alone."

Related, "Let sleeping dogs lie."

I've always heard user3169's answer as "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

the-baby-is-you
  • 5,512
  • 23
  • 28
  • 6
    Both of your suggestions are close, but to me they imply that the situation isn't "perfectly good." Instead they give me (native Am. English speaker) the impression that the situation is actually fairly bad, but any attempt to intervene is likely to make things worse – BThompson Aug 04 '21 at 15:14
  • @BThompson That's fair enough, I agree. – the-baby-is-you Aug 04 '21 at 20:17
  • 1
    Often heard in the form "Let well alone". – nigel222 Aug 05 '21 at 10:00
  • ''Let sleeping dogs lie'' sounds slightly literary and probably wouldn't be heard in everyday speech (at least not where I'm fron). – Hollis Williams Aug 05 '21 at 12:25
  • @BThompson - To me Well Enough and Perfectly Good do mean the same thing. Well enough means not perfect but good/well enough. Perfectly good means not perfect, we would just call that perfect, but good enough/functional. – EllieK Aug 05 '21 at 15:24
  • 1
    @EllieK I generally agree that well enough and perfectly good are quite close in meaning; however, I don't parse "Leave well enough alone" as describing the situation as "well enough". I see it as describing the manner in which the speaker wants the listener to leave the situation alone. Again this implies (to me) that the situation is not good, and involving oneself is only likely to make things worse and/or drag the listener into a bad situation they needn't be part of – BThompson Aug 05 '21 at 16:07
  • “Let sleeping dogs lie” has a different meaning. Something isn’t good and doesn’t work well, but if you attract attention to it and someone tries to fix it, you can bet that whoever tries to fix it will make it worse. – gnasher729 Aug 05 '21 at 16:26
  • @gnasher729 That's why I said it was related. I didn't say it was exact. – the-baby-is-you Aug 05 '21 at 17:06
15

The expression "gilding the lily" means to add needless changes to something that's already of high value or near-perfect. So "don't gild the lily" would perhaps covey what you're looking for.

Or, "don't wreck a good thing" might fit, if the proposed changes were obviously going to lower its value. But this is very commonly used in cases where people are benefiting from a system which is non-standard or sub-optimal. Like if you found you were undercharged for a retail good, and were proposing to bring the error to the shop's attention so they could charge you the correct higher value, a friend might say "don't wreck a good thing". So similar in intent but perhaps not exactly what you're describing.

I'd go with "don't gild the lily".

CCTO
  • 2,086
  • 9
  • 9
  • 5
    To me, "gild the lily" has a connotation of overdoing it — i.e. trying to add extra, unneeded embellishments that actually make it worse. – anotherdave Aug 04 '21 at 16:31
  • @anotherdave Yes, quite right. I think I was really looking at the stress the OP was putting on the thing being "perfectly good" to begin with, even for changes that are nominally (or superficially) improvements. – CCTO Aug 04 '21 at 18:58
  • yeah it's definitely a valid option (depending on the angle the OP is going for), was just adding for extra info – anotherdave Aug 04 '21 at 20:05
  • 1
    Except that "gilding the lily" is a re-wording of the original: "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, To throw a perfume on the violet, To smooth the ice, or add another hue Unto the rainbow..." (Shakespeare, "King John", Act 4, scene 1) It changes the entire meaning, which was that those acts are not only unnecessary, but pointless. While a gilded lily might be rather fashionable among certain florist circles :-) – jamesqf Aug 05 '21 at 00:33
  • No, that's a totally different context and meaning. – Hollis Williams Aug 05 '21 at 23:38
9

Here are two other proverbs that mean the same thing.

"Never change a running system"

"Don't change a winning team"

Also, the correct proverb is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Syed Danish Anwar
  • 345
  • 2
  • 13
  • 4
    I'm not sure I would call those proverbs. They sound like things you might say in specific situations where "if it ain't broke..." would also apply. – bornfromanegg Aug 04 '21 at 17:09
  • The above are all proverbs according to online dictionaries. I've edited the answer to include references. – Syed Danish Anwar Aug 04 '21 at 18:12
  • 2
    In that case, I take it back, although I'm certainly surprised. Interestingly, the first of these cross-references "don't reinvent the wheel", which I think would be a great answer to the question. – bornfromanegg Aug 04 '21 at 18:20
  • I agree. That is a great answer as well. It denotes not wasting time on improving a thing that is already perfect. – Syed Danish Anwar Aug 04 '21 at 18:21
  • 1
    “Never change a Running system” is no proverb. It’s about not changing a computer system while it is running, but stop the system, apply changes, restart it. Like you wouldn’t change the wheels of a car while driving, even when one needs changing: You stop the car first. – gnasher729 Aug 05 '21 at 16:41
  • Do some research before answering. It is a proverb according to online dictionaries. I have referenced the source in my answer. You are right in that the proverb is derived from the field of computing. It means don't change something while it is working. – Syed Danish Anwar Aug 05 '21 at 16:47
  • To be fair, according to your research, it is a proverb according one online dictionary - that's all. If you can find more, you should post them to support your answer. Most dictionary definitions of the word "proverb" require the phrase to be well-known or familiar. I'm not going to downvote your answer, but I'm with @gnasher729 - I don't consider these to be proverbs in the literal sense. – bornfromanegg Sep 17 '21 at 08:07
5

If you want a lighthearted way to joke about someone trying to fix something that they should have left alone, there's

"If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is"

user141649
  • 51
  • 1
4

"The great is the enemy of the good."

When you have something that is good enough, do not risk making it worse, just because you are tempted to try to make it great.

Variations are often seen, such as, "The perfect is the enemy of the good." See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good

Tim Randall
  • 311
  • 1
  • 6
  • 20
    I’ve always heard this as, “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” – Davislor Aug 04 '21 at 19:35
  • 1
    Often abused as “we can’t have the perfect, therefore we don’t even try to get the good” and rather continue using something bad. Say we have A which is really bad. C would be perfect but is difficult or expensive or both. Therefore we can’t get B which is cheap and much better than A but not perfect. – gnasher729 Aug 05 '21 at 16:44
4

"Don't reinvent the wheel"

Ethan Seal
  • 41
  • 2
  • 4
    That has a different meaning. To me, it means, if you have something that's working, don't try to come up with another way to get things working. If you're working in your yard moving earth using a wheel-barrow and your spouse suggests using a wagon instead, he/she's "re-inventing the wheel" (not a great example, but it does involve wheels). – Flydog57 Aug 04 '21 at 22:22
  • 2
    In my experience, "reinventing the wheel" is said more about situations where your problem has a well-known standard solution, but you aren't aware of that solution so you try to come up with your own instead. The idea is that you should start by investigating existing approaches to a problem, rather than assume there are none. – kaya3 Aug 05 '21 at 17:52
  • 1
    To the previous two commenters: the question was about a phrase that means “not to change a perfectly good thing”. You’ve both described situations that fit this perfectly. I think “don’t reinvent the wheel” is a great answer. – bornfromanegg Aug 08 '21 at 08:17
2

Don't change horses in midstream is another one. Sometimes seen as "swap" instead of "change", or "midrace" instead of "midstream".

Darrel Hoffman
  • 307
  • 2
  • 8
  • 5
    I believe that the proverb means not changing position when part way through a project or campaign. – Syed Danish Anwar Aug 04 '21 at 18:18
  • @SyedDanishAnwar It does perhaps imply a timeframe, i.e. after the "stream", you can then feel free to "change horses". But it's at least a related concept, worth considering. Don't know the exact context the OP is looking for. – Darrel Hoffman Aug 04 '21 at 18:41
  • Agree this says more about when to change rather than what to change. Whether or not the horse you're riding is any good, you should not change it in the middle of a stream. It doesn't imply that the horse you're on is good in any way, nor does it suggest that you wouldn't be better off with a different horse - just that you shouldn't change at a particular time. – Nuclear Hoagie Aug 05 '21 at 15:50
2

"Don't mess with success"

"Don’t mess with success” is another way of saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” “And I might say you don’t mess with success” was cited in print in 1964. It does not appear that any one person coined or popularized the simple rhyme.

https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/dont_mess_with_success

chiliNUT
  • 199
  • 1
  • 4
1

"Never change a winning team"

Sebie
  • 11
  • 1
-1

An algorithmic-focused answer:

Premature optimization is the root of all evil.

George Menoutis
  • 226
  • 1
  • 6
  • 2
    No. That means “don’t try to improve something until you understand it well enough to be sure that your changes will be an improvement, and that you can’t achieve a much bigger improvement if you gain more understanding”. – gnasher729 Aug 05 '21 at 16:47