let sleeping dogs lie

idiom

: to ignore a problem because trying to deal with it could cause an even more difficult situation

I thought about bringing up my concerns but decided instead to let sleeping dogs lie.

Examples of let sleeping dogs lie in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The hearing never happened: Joey had spent the time since the couple separated living happily with the defendant’s mother, in Maine; the couple decided to let sleeping dogs lie, and dropped the matter. —

Susan Lehman, The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2021 At least for Cooper, probably best to let sleeping dogs lie on this one. —

Jacob Carpenter, Fortune, 28 Nov. 2022 Though if it’s gone on this long, maybe Bungie is content to let sleeping dogs lie here. —

Paul Tassi, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2022 Surely this is enough reason to let sleeping dogs lie. —

Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2022 The fear of divisiveness—and the sheer exhaustion that divisive politics breeds—easily translates into the desire to let sleeping dogs lie. —

Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2020

Dictionary Entries Near let sleeping dogs lie

letovicite

let sleeping dogs lie

let (someone) down easy/gently

See More Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

Style

“Let sleeping dogs lie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/let%20sleeping%20dogs%20lie. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation