Do you know what the idiom ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ means? I’ll give you a hint: It’s not about real sleeping dogs 😀 As an idiom (or proverb), it means to not talk about an old problem because it might cause trouble again—it is better to leave things as they are.
Here are some examples:
Tom: “Should I talk to Ben about our argument last year?” Sam: “No. You are friends again now. Let sleeping dogs lie.”
“My parents had a big argument yesterday, but they are happy now. I won’t ask them about it. I’ll let sleeping dogs lie.”
“The boss was angry about my mistake last week, but he hasn’t mentioned it again. I think I’ll let sleeping dogs lie.”
So what is the best way to use ‘let sleeping dogs lie’? Here are five expressions you can use:
- “Let’s let sleeping dogs lie.”
- “I think it’s better to let sleeping dogs lie.”
- “I’d rather let sleeping dogs lie.”
- “Maybe we should just let sleeping dogs lie.”
So where does this idiom come from? It’s from the idea that waking a sleeping dog might be dangerous. A dog that is sleeping is not causing any trouble, but if you wake it suddenly, it might become angry and bite you. Then, it also came to more generally mean to not bring up past problems because it may cause more trouble.
So, do you prefer to ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ or to address past problems?🤓
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Extra tip! The expression ‘don’t rock the boat’ also means to not cause problems. But rather than bringing up an old problem, it just means to not do something that might upset a happy or peaceful situation. Here’s an example: “Everyone is happy with the new plan. Don’t rock the boat by asking for big changes.” |
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