let sleeping dogs lie

let sleeping dogs lie

To leave a situation alone so as to avoid worsening it. Oh, don't mention that fight they had months ago—let sleeping dogs lie!
See also: dog, let, lie, sleep
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

Prov. Do not instigate trouble.; Leave something alone if it might cause trouble. Jill: Should I ask the boss if he's upset at my coming in late in the mornings? Jane: If he hasn't said anything about it, just let sleeping dogs lie. I thought I would ask Jill if she wanted me to pay her back right away, but then I decided to let sleeping dogs lie.
See also: dog, let, lie, sleep
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

let sleeping dogs lie

Allow inactive problems to remain so, as in Jane knew she should report the accident but decided to let sleeping dogs lie. This injunction to avoid stirring up trouble was already a proverb in the 13th century. It alludes to waking up a fierce watchdog and has been stated in English since the late 1300s.
See also: dog, let, lie, sleep
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

let sleeping dogs lie

If you tell someone to let sleeping dogs lie, you are warning them not to interfere in a situation or not to talk about problems that have happened in the past. Why does she come over here stirring everything up? Why can't she let sleeping dogs lie? Note: You can call a situation that it would be better not to disturb a sleeping dog. The crux of the film is that his inquisitive son, by arousing the sleeping dog of the past, finds himself in danger.
See also: dog, let, lie, sleep
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

let sleeping dogs lie

avoid interfering in a situation that is currently causing no problems, but may well do so as a consequence of such interference. proverb
In the early 14th century the French phrase n'esveillez pas lou chien qui dort advised ‘do not wake the sleeping dog’, while Chaucer remarks in Troilus and Criseyde ‘it is nought good a slepyng hound to wake’. The present form of the proverb seems to be traceable to Walter Scott's novel Redgauntlet ( 1824 ).
See also: dog, let, lie, sleep
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

let ˌsleeping dogs ˈlie

(saying) do not disturb a situation which could cause trouble: I was very careful about what I said. It’s best to let sleeping dogs lie, I think.
See also: dog, let, lie, sleep
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

let sleeping dogs lie

Don’t stir up trouble; leave well enough alone. Rabelais quoted this thirteenth-century proverb, as did Chaucer in Troilus and Criseyde, both alluding to rousing a potentially fierce watchdog.
See also: dog, let, lie, sleep
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • let (someone or something) get out
  • let (someone or something) get out of (something)
  • let out
  • let out (some sound)
  • let the chips fall (where they may)
  • let the chips fall where they may
  • let in
  • let us (do something)
  • Let us do
  • yell
References in periodicals archive
If the claimant is not complaining, and there are no big-ticket bills, then it is easy to let sleeping dogs lie.
Proactively managing long-term claims
The then Labour local government minister Nick Raynsford considered an intervention as the two mayoral systems combined scored 53 per cent, but with Labour losing mayoral elections to independents in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool, he decided to let sleeping dogs lie.
Picking up the torch for an elected city mayor
What shall the man do - dig up the ugliness of the past and anger his villagers or cover it up and let sleeping dogs lie? Over to you, Mr Miliband.
Over to you, Ed; YOUR LETTERS TO THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER OF WALES
It may be advisable to let sleeping dogs lie and think of alternative solutions to tackle the energy crisis.
EDITORIAL: Gilani's musings
* Life is Ruff So let sleeping dogs lie in the ultimate luxury of a cuddly faux fur bed ($55).
Canine couture
To let sleeping dogs lie, as it were," News of the World quoted one exec as saying.
John Terry won't be stripped of his Daddy of the Year title
Wainless advised other owners to follow her basic dog etiquette, hoping it would let sleeping dogs lie in Dubai.
walk the dog hot under the collar
Let sleeping dogs lie and us to get on with our lives.
Digging into our past, they gave us a future
Let sleeping dogs lie. None so blind as those who cannot see.
Generic limericks
Reding had already warned members of the European Parliament's Culture Committee in December that she wished to "let sleeping dogs lie"(see Europolitics 3214 and 3215).
AUDIOVISUAL POLICY : COMMISSION EXTENDS STATE AID FOR CINEMA TO END 2009
Often enough it really is wise to let sleeping dogs lie.
Let sleeping dogs lie
Stephen Andrews' advice to "let sleeping dogs lie" and defeated a motion calling for work to start on a unified Book of Common Prayer.
Synod says 'not now' to a unified prayer book
Sometimes it's not possible to let sleeping dogs lie. They simply wake of their own accord.
Fractured pasts shatter the present
Lindsay, "Where Are the Hawks on North Korea?" page 28.] Bush's Korea policy has thus violated both the first commandment of foreign policy (let sleeping dogs lie) and the second (you have to pick your fights).
Never mind. (Comment)
According to federal prosecutor Mark Flessner, who had been assigned to build a criminal case against al-Kadi and other terrorist suspects, "There were powers bigger than I was in the Justice Department and within the FBI that simply were not going to let it [the criminal case] happen." According to Wright, in January 2001, his supervisor responded to his repeated efforts to open a criminal investigation by telling him: "I think it's just better to let sleeping dogs lie." "Those dogs weren't sleeping," Wright ruefully remarked.
9-11: FBI futility and failure: FBI agents have testified that FBI headquarters has blocked investigations of certain terrorists with connections to 9-11. Why? The bureau itself appears to need investigation. (Terrorism)