withstood... Lions make leopards tame.—Yea, but not change his spots. 1869 A.
HENDERSON Latin Proverbs 317 Pardus maculas non deponit, a leopard does not
change his spots. 1979 J. SCOTT Clutch of Vipers iv. He always was a dirty old man.. and
the leopard doesn’t change his spots. 1997 Washington Times 24 July C16 Although he
swears he has changed, leopards don’t usually change their spots, especially those who
don’t cooperate in counseling. change; human natureLESS is more1855 R. BROWNING Andrea del Sarto 1. 78 in Poems (1981) I. 645 Well, less is
more, Lucrezia: I am judged. 1947 P. JOHNSON Mies van der Rohe 49 As in
architecture, [Mies] has always been guided by his personal motto, ‘less is more.’ 1984
O. BANKS Caravaggio Obsession III. iii. Anyway, he spent years furnishing it with
precious, ornamental works of art. This was in the twenties and thirties, when ‘less is
more’ was the golden rule. 1989 Time 20 Feb. 108 What Chiat and his associates seem to
be betting on is that there is a mass market of low-income, style-conscious people who
have grasped the hip message that less is more. 2001 Washington Times 3 Aug. A17 It
was as if the pink flamingos had been taken off a Florida lawn, the sequins off Dolly
Parton’s cowgirl costume, the fins off a ‘50s Cadillac .. There are times when less is
blessedly more. moderationless see also of two EVILS choose the less; more HASTE, less speed.LET well aloneWell is normally considered here as a noun (’what is well’), rather than an adverb. The
proverb is also frequently found in the form leave well alone.
c 1570 Scoggin’s Jests (1626) 76 The shomaker thought to make his house greater. ..
They pulled downe foure or fiue postes of the house. .. Why said Scoggin, when it was
well you could not let it alone. 1740 G. CHEYNE Essay on Regimen p. xxxvi. When a
Person is tolerably well, and is subject to no painful or dangerous Distemper, I think it his
Duty..to let Well alone. 1822 M. EDGEWORTH Letter 12 Jan. (1971) 317 Joanna quoted
to me the other day an excellent proverb applied to health: ‘Let well alone.’ 1829 T. L.
PEACOCK Misfortunes of Elphin ii. This immortal work.. will stand for centuries. .. It is
well: it works well: let well alone. 1985 R. R. IRVINE Ratings are Murder xx. I don’t
think it’s ever a good idea to tamper with tradition. Leave well enough alone, I say. 2002
Washington Post 17 May B6 From what I can tell, most people are members of the ‘Let’s
Leave Well Enough Alone’ and ‘If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It’ clubs. busybodies;
content and discontent