phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Let sleeping dogs lay

Posted by ESC on November 13, 2008 at 21:49

In Reply to: Let sleeping dogs lay posted by Victoria S Dennis on November 13, 2008 at 18:34:

: : Does any one know the meaning and origins of the phrase "Let sleeping dogs lay"?

: It's "Let sleeping dogs lie" (not "lay"), and it's a very old proverb. Chaucer used it in the form "It is nought good a slepyng hound to wake" and it is recorded even earlier in the 14th century in French: "nesveillez pas lou chien qui dort". It means: "don't stir up trouble; if the situation is quiet at the moment, let it be". (VSD)

Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay...and That's No Lie. ecx.images-amazon.com/ images/I/51SE838CV6L._BO2,204,203,200

© 1997 – 2024 Phrases.org.uk. All rights reserved.