Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006

Hello:

I am surprised a bit by the presence of "it" in
"Leave it that you don't see."

I think the sentence would work both and without "it."

How's the idiom these days?

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[Henry Wilcox doesn't agree with the idea of his sister-in-law
spending the night at Howard's End]

"Now Helen has no associations with Howards End, though I and Charles
and Evie have. I do not see why she wants to stay the night there. She
will only catch cold."

"Leave it that you don't see," cried Margaret. "Call it fancy. But
realize that fancy is a scientific fact. Helen is fanciful, and wants
to."

Then he surprised her--a rare occurrence. He shot an unexpected
bolt. "If she wants to sleep one night, she may want to sleep two. We
shall never get her out of the house, perhaps."

Howards End - E. M. Forster, p. 350
http://www.litrix.com/howards/howar038.htm
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Thanks.
Marius