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• Let sleeping dogs lie
  Let sleeping dogs lie

  Do not stir up a problem that has lain quiet for some time.
• let sleeping dogs lie
  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.

Let sleeping dogs lie

Cultural  

1. Do not stir up a problem that has lain quiet for some time.

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let sleeping dogs lie Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Let sleeping dogs lie let sleeping dogs lie

An old expression came to us: Let sleeping dogs lie.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 31, 2021

And her message to me was: Let sleeping dogs lie.

From Time ● May 23, 2016

Let sleeping dogs lie, he thought to himself, remembering the dinner.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

And, further, "Let sleeping dogs lie until the milk is stolen."

From Coquette by Frank Swinnerton

Does the reader recall the old proverb, "Let sleeping dogs lie?"

From Five Years of Theosophy by Various

Maybe sometimes we should let sleeping dogs lie.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

The sage advice is to let sleeping dogs lie, but the new film “Cruella” couldn’t resist shaking the poor creatures awake to the plight of a woman known for trying to murder them.

From Washington Post ● May 28, 2021

Should indulge my curiosity or let sleeping dogs lie?

From Slate ● Dec. 10, 2019

"I was slightly concerned people might say I should let sleeping dogs lie, but I haven't received a single derogatory remark," she says.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2019

I was afraid he might have chosen to let sleeping dogs lie.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk