Let sleeping dogs lie explained

"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", and dormant controversies should not be restarted even if they were never resolved. This intent is similar to the meanings of sayings like "Don't rock the boat", "Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you".

History

An early version in enm|"It is nought good a slepyng hound to wake" belongs to Chaucer (AD, "Troilus and Criseyde", III.764) and is predated by earlier fr|n'ésveillez pas lou chien qui dort, "wake not the sleeping dog" (early 14th century). The Chaucer's character, Pandarus, when uttering the phrase, is speaking literally, referring to Criseyde's ladies sleeping outside her chamber.

The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs traces the following evolution of the saying:

In the 19th century the modern version was already popular. Widespread use in the 20th century (see Bryan and Mieder 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) to “let sleeping dogmas lie” (Edmund Gosse).

Other languages

The de|Schlafende Hunde ("sleeping dog") was an idiom for a dangerous subject that should not be touched upon since at least the 16th century. The form of expression varies. de|schlafende Hunde wecken ("to wake the sleeping dogs") is to create an inconvenience to oneself by attracting attention.

it|non svegliare il can che dorme dates back to, when made a wordplay (it|non sveglian lo can che dorme) on an it|gran Can del Catai, the Chinese Emperor.

Expression is known in Russian, usually in the form ru|не буди лихо, пока оно тихо, "don't wake up trouble while it is quiet".

In Swedish, the expression is practically the same as in English, but the dog is replaced by a bear: sv|väck inte den björn som sover, "don't wake a sleeping bear".[1]

The idiom is unfamiliar to the speakers of Arabic who mostly fail to recognize its meaning.

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Hagel . AnnChristin . Grasping the Idea The Use and Understanding of Figurative Language in a First and a Second Language - A Matter of Language Skills or a Matter of Age? . Luleå University of Technology . Bachelor of Arts in Education . 46.

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