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 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

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'let sleeping dogs lie.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near let sleeping dogs lie

letovicite

let sleeping dogs lie

let (someone) down easy/gently

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“Let sleeping dogs lie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/let%20sleeping%20dogs%20lie. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

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