don't speak ill of the dead

don't speak ill of the dead

It is immoral or objectionable to say malicious or defamatory things about someone who has passed away. A: "Ah, Tom was just a selfish old bigot." B: "Mary! Don't speak ill of the dead!" I know people say don't speak ill of the dead, but we shouldn't forget the misdeeds of those who were once in power, either, lest history repeats itself.
See also: dead, ill, of, speak
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • never speak ill of the dead
  • you shouldn't speak ill of the dead
  • speak ill of
  • speak ill of (someone or something)
  • speak/think ill of somebody
  • sup with the devil
  • dine with the devil
  • poison pen
  • a piece of work
  • piece of work, a
References in periodicals archive
For instance, we don't speak ill of the dead because they can no longer defend themselves.
Respect the dead
They've trashed one of our last taboos - that you don't speak ill of the dead. Now, there is no respect for the dead.
Maggie morons just disgust me
Just as we don't speak ill of the dead, so in politics people tend not to speak ill of the political living dead.
Is it Beckett's moment?
THEY say don't speak ill of the dead. Well, that maxim thankfully does not apply in this new black comedy-drama from the US.
TV WITH FRANCES TRAYNOR: SOLID GOLD; Dodgy drug trials, greed, corruption - this had it all TV WITH
You don't speak ill of the dead. That is a saying common not just among Filipinos but among other peoples as well.
Slandering a man of God