let sleeping dogs lie. (14th century)
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Avoid discussing or stirring up a potentially controversial issue
Literally: allow dormant problems to remain unresolved
Examples
It's best to let sleeping dogs lie and not bring up the argument again
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). 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 sleeping dogs lie. (14th century)” mean?
Avoid discussing or stirring up a potentially controversial issue Literally: allow dormant problems to remain unresolved
Is “let sleeping dogs lie. (14th century)” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.