diff --git a/Lib/idlelib/EditorWindow.py b/Lib/idlelib/EditorWindow.py
index b69f06d..35771ef 100644
--- a/Lib/idlelib/EditorWindow.py
+++ b/Lib/idlelib/EditorWindow.py
@@ -819,7 +819,7 @@
 
     def close(self):
         reply = self.maybesave()
-        if reply != "cancel":
+        if str(reply) != "cancel":
             self._close()
         return reply
 
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 564e3b1..e671c72 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -286,6 +286,8 @@
 - fixed a bug with bsddb.DB.stat: the flags and txn keyword arguments
   were transposed.
 
+- idle: Honor the "Cancel" action in the save dialog (Debian bug #299092).
+
 
 Extension Modules
 -----------------