alone (redirected from going it alone)

go it alone

to do something by oneself. Do you need help, or will you go it alone? I think I need a little more experience before I go it alone.

He travels fastest who travels alone.

Prov. It is easier to achieve your goals if you do not have a spouse, children, or other connections to consider. Jill: Don't go yet! Wait for me to get ready. Jane: But you always take at least half an hour. No wonder they always say that he travels fastest who travels alone.

See also: fast, travel, who

Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone.

Prov. When you are happy, people will want to be around you and share your happiness, but when you are sad, people will avoid you. Nancy: When Harry and I were dating, all our friends invited us places and called to say hello. Now that we've broken up, they treat me as if I don't exist. Jane: Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone.

See also: and, laugh, weep, world

leave (someone, something, or some creature) alone and let (someone, something, or some creature) alone; leave (someone, something, or some creature) be; let (someone, something, or some creature) be

to stop bothering someone or something. Don't torment the cat. Leave it alone. I don't want your help. Let me alone. Don't argue about it. Let it be!

See also: leave

Leave me alone!

Stop harassing me!; Don't bother me! John: You did it. You're the one who always does it. Bill: Leave me alone! I never did it. Fred: Let's give Bill a dunk in the pool. Bill: Leave me alone!

See also: leave

let someone or something alone and leave someone or something alone; leave someone or something be

to avoid touching, bothering, or communicating with someone or something. Leave me alone. I don't want your help. Let it alone! Don't touch it! It may be hot!

See also: let

let alone someone or something

not to mention or think of someone or something; not even to take someone or something into account. (Fixed order.) Do I have a dollar? I don't even have a dime, let alone a dollar. I didn't invite John, let alone the rest of his family.

See also: let

let well enough alone and leave well enough alone

to leave things as they are (and not try to improve them). There isn't much more you can accomplish here. Why don't you just let well enough alone? This is as good as I can do. I'll stop and leave well enough alone.

See also: enough, let, well

Man does not live by bread alone.

Prov. In order to survive, people need more than physical things like food and shelter.; People need mental or spiritual things like satisfaction and love. (Biblical.) Alan: I'm so miserable. Jill: How can you be miserable? You've got a good place to live, plenty to eat, nice clothes.... Alan: But man does not live by bread alone.

See also: bread, does, live, man

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go it alone

to do something by yourself and without help from other people Honda has chosen to go it alone rather than set up a joint venture with an American partner.

leave well alone  (British & Australian) also leave well enough alone (American)

to not change or try to improve something that is not causing any problems So long as the machine still does what you want it to, my advice is to leave well alone. Surgeons are aware that every operation carries some risk, and sometimes decide to leave well enough alone.

See also: leave, well

leave/let well alone  (British, American & Australian) also leave/let well enough alone (American)

to leave something the way it is, because trying to improve it might make it worse In cases of back trouble, it's difficult to know whether to operate or leave well alone. I'm not doing any more on that painting - it's time to let well enough alone.

See also: leave, well

Man cannot live by bread alone.

something that you say which means people need things such as art, music and poetry as well as food, in order to live a happy life

Usage notes: This phrase comes from the Bible.

Our cultural heritage is important. Man cannot live by bread alone.

See also: bread, cannot, live, man

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go it alone

to do something without help from other people After two years as a member of the quartet, Sinatra decided to go it alone. Even countries cannot go it alone in the world today.

leave somebody alone

to not annoy or interrupt someone let somebody alone If you just leave her alone she'll do the job right.

See also: leave

leave something alone

to not touch or be involved with something Leave the bite alone and don't scratch it.

See also: leave

leave well enough alone

to allow something to stay as it is because doing more would not improve it I thought about rewriting the letter, but I decided to leave well enough alone.

See also: enough, leave, well

let somebody alone

to not annoy or interrupt someone leave somebody alone I tried to keep my promise not to call her, to let her alone to think, but finally I needed to talk to her.

See also: let

let alone do something

and to an even greater degree do something We were trapped in a situation you can barely imagine, let alone understand.

Usage notes: used to emphasize the extreme character of something

Related vocabulary: not to mention somebody/something

See also: let