let a sleeping dog lie
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Avoid talking about or bringing up a past issue that could cause trouble
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
tránh nhắc đến hoặc đưa ra vấn đề quá khứ có thể gây rối
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: leave a sleeping dog alone
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Let's not mention the argument, let a sleeping dog lie
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 “let a sleeping dog lie” mean?
Avoid talking about or bringing up a past issue that could cause trouble Literally: leave a sleeping dog alone
Is “let a sleeping dog lie” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.