• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / What does the phrase “let sleeping dogs lie” come from and What does it mean?

What does the phrase “let sleeping dogs lie” come from and What does it mean?

June 25, 2020 by Karen Hill

The phrase “let sleeping dogs lie” means to let a matter or person which at the present is at rest stay at rest, rather than to create a disturbance by bringing the matter up again or arousing the person.

Chaucer wrote this in just the reverse form, “It is nought good a slepyng hound to wake” (Troylus and Criseyde, 1374), and it was still so recorded some two hundred years later by John Heywood (A Dialogue Conteynyng Prouerbes and Epigrammes, 1562), “It is ill wakyng of a sleapyng dogge.”

But by the time of Charles Dickens (David Copperfield, 1850) it had been turned about into the order of today’s usage.

Related Facts

  • Where does the phrase "to come to the end of one's rope" come from and What does it mean?
  • What does the phrase "come hell or high water" mean and Where does it come from?
  • What Does the Expression "Until the Cows Come Home" Mean and Where Did the Phrase Come From?
  • Where does the phrase "touch and go" come from and What does touch and go mean?
  • Where does the phrase "alpha and omega" come from and What does alpha and omega mean?
  • Where does the phrase "cock and bull story" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the phrase "to rain cats and dogs" come from and What does the expression mean?
  • Where does the phrase "best bib and tucker" come from and What does it mean?
  • What does the phrase "to swallow a tale hook, line, and sinker" mean and Where does it come from?
  • Where does the phrase "lock, stock, and barrel" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the phrase "a song and dance" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the phrase "to mind one's p's and q's" come from and What does it mean?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where does the expression “to have up one’s sleeve” come from and What does it mean?
Next Post: What does the expression “to box the compass” mean and Where does it come from? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy