This article is about a proverb. For literature and movie titles, see
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie.
"Let sleeping dogs lie" is an English
proverb known at least since the 14th century. This
saying suggests that when an old problem is no longer causing anyone trouble, it might be better left undiscussed: "Possibly he cohabited with Miss Bloggs, but don't mention it in front of his wife, let the sleeping dogs lie",[1] and dormant controversies should not be restarted even if they were never resolved.[2][3] This intent is similar to the meanings of sayings like "Don't rock the boat", "Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you".[4]
History
An early version in
Middle English: "It is nought good a slepyng hound to wake" belongs to
Chaucer (
c. 1385AD, "
Troilus and Criseyde", III.764)[2] and is predated by earlier
French: n'ésveillez pas lou chien qui dort, "wake not the sleeping dog" (early 14th century).[5] The Chaucer's character,
Pandarus, when uttering the phrase, is speaking literally, referring to
Criseyde's ladies sleeping outside her chamber.[6]
The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs[5] traces the following evolution of the saying:
Middle English: It is euill wakyng of a slepyng dog (1546,
John Heywood in "A Dialogue Conteinyng the Nomber in Effect of All the Prouerbes in the Englishe Tongues");
It's best To let a sleeping
mastiff rest (1681,
Samuel Colvil in "The Whigs Supplication");
Take my advice and [ask] as little about him as he does about you. Best to let sleeping dogs lie (the first known use of the modern phrasing, 1824,
Walter Scott in the "
Redgauntlet").
In the 19th century the modern version was already popular.[2] Widespread use in the 20th century (see Bryan and Mieder[7] for some literary sources) made the proverb very recognizable, enabling some significant modifications, from "It is my policy to let sleeping senators lie" (
Gore Vidal attacking his opponent Senator
S. I. Hayakawa who was prone to napping in the chamber)[8] to “let sleeping dogmas lie” (
Edmund Gosse).[9]
Other languages
The
German: Schlafende Hunde ("sleeping dog") was an
idiom for a dangerous subject that should not be touched upon since at least the 16th century.[10] The form of expression varies.[11]German: schlafende Hunde wecken ("to wake the sleeping dogs") is to create an inconvenience to oneself by attracting attention.[12]
Schilling, Silvia (2018). "Let sleeping dogs lie". An Analysis of English Expressions Concerning Cats and Dogs. Bod Third Party Titles. p. 3.
ISBN978-3-346-13425-7.
Ayto, John (2020-06-18). "let sleeping dogs lie". Oxford Dictionary of Idioms. Oxford, United Kingdom ; New York, NY: Oxford University Press, USA.
ISBN978-0-19-884562-1.
OCLC1151947753.
Manser, M.H.; Fergusson, R.; Pickering, D. (2007).
"let sleeping dogs lie". The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs. Facts on File library of language and literature. Facts On File.
ISBN978-0-8160-6673-5. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
Norrick, Neal R. (1985). How Proverbs Mean: Semantic Studies in English Proverbs. Trends in Linguistics: Studies and monographs. Berlin, New York, Amsterdam: Mouton Publishers.
ISBN3-11-010196-3.
LCCN85-4837.