help a lame dog over a stile
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
to assist someone who is struggling or in need
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
hỗ trợ người đang gặp khó khăn hoặc cần giúp đỡ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: to help a crippled dog cross a fence
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The charity aims to help a lame dog over a stile by providing food and shelter
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “help a lame dog over a stile” mean?
to assist someone who is struggling or in need Literally: to help a crippled dog cross a fence
Is “help a lame dog over a stile” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.