# let sleeping dogs lie

idiom · CEFR B1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/let-sleeping-dogs-lie
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To leave things as they are; especially, to avoid restarting or rekindling an old argument; to leave disagreements in the past.

## Examples

- It is better to let sleeping dogs lie.
- We decided not to bring up the old argument and just let sleeping dogs lie.
- Although the historical injustice still bothered him, he chose to let sleeping dogs lie rather than reopen painful family wounds.

## Origin

From Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde (c. 1380): 'It is nought good a slepyng hound to wake.' (disputed)

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.