non svegliare il can che dorme (2025)

Let sleeping dogs lie.

E' una frase fatta.

Murphy said:

Let sleeping dogs lie.

E' una frase fatta.

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Grazie.

Verse said:

Il thread è vecchio, ma mi sono appena imbattuta nell'espressione 'don't poke the bear', che penso equivalga anch'essa a "non svegliare il can che dorme".

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Does this refer to Russia, by any chance? In any case I think it's not the same as letting sleeping dogs lie. It's more don't disturb someone or something that is going to hurt you.

Hi Guys,

I got your suggestions but I'm not able to use them, so, please, be so kind to help an ignorant to cope with this!

I need to say: "non vorrei svegliare il can che dorme" in the sense of: do not disturb a situation that might lead to (legal) complications, so what @johngiovanni suggested is perfect but.....I can't find a way to let this sentence fit.

Context:
We had some discussion with a person about a possibile lawsuit. Now, we haven't heard back from that person since August, so a colleague of mine want to write to this person that, since we haven't heard back from him, we consider this matter as closed.
I'd like to say: mah, non vorrei svegliare il can che dorme!".

Can I just say: "Well, I don't want to wake up the sleeping dog " or does this sentence work only in its original formulation "Let sleeping dogs lie"?

Maybe it is a silly question and I should just treat this sentence as a normal one, but, you know, idioms are tricky

Thanks everybody!

I would leave well alone if I were you. Contacting him could open up a can of worms.

leave well alone

to allow something to stay as it is because doing more might make things worse:

It's going to get in a muddle if you carry on. I should just leave well alone if I were you.

How Did the Term "Open a Can of Worms" Originate?

Metaphorically speaking, to open a can of worms is to examine or attempt to solve some problem, only to inadvertently complicate it and create even more trouble.

🙂

johngiovanni said:

"Let's not wake the sleeping dog" would be OK. I think it would be understood as relating to the "Let sleeping dogs lie" idiom.

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Or you could say something like "let's let this sleeping dog lie," or "I'd rather let this sleeping dog lie": if you've got "sleeping dog" and "lie" in there, it'll be clear you're playing with the idiom.

And I agree with rrose from 2011 about the difference between "let sleeping dogs lie" and "don't poke the bear," though, confusingly enough, it sounds as if the meaning of non svegliare il can che dorme might be closer to the latter than the former. If the question is whether or not to remind someone that they'd planned to bring a lawsuit against you, I think "let's not poke the bear" is what I'd say. But perhaps there's an AE / BE difference with the sleeping dogs?

That's intresting, Arti and thanks to have joined the Circus!

I've mixed these suggestions and what I had was:

My point is that I don’t want to poke the bear: what is your opinion? Better to write something, closing this matter or just let the sleeping dogs lie?

By the way: I'm writing to an AmE speaker.

'Poking the bear' definitely doesn't work in my opinion.

poke the bear

to intentionally make or try to make someone angry or offended, especially someone more powerful than you:

He attacked his colleagues for not wanting to poke the bear, referring to them not wanting to confront the president.
"Don't poke the bear," was the warning about crossing the boss.

Definition of LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE

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.

Can this be an Au / AmE thing?

I've found non svegliare il can che dorme translated also as poke the bear around the web (reverso for example)

You little ripper! said:

Look at it logically

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You gotta be kidding me......what's logical in pestering a bear???

Sorry I could not resist.....

Logically speaking weaking a dog and poking a bear could be both dangerous activities, having interesting outcomes for sure.

Anyway I can see your point but it's difficult for a non native understand why then, Arti said:

theartichoke said:

And I agree with rrose from 2011 about the difference between "let sleeping dogs lie" and "don't poke the bear," though, confusingly enough, it sounds as if the meaning of non svegliare il can che dorme might be closer to the latter than the former.

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When you said:

You little ripper! said:

'Poking the bear' definitely doesn't work in my opinion.

poke the bear

to intentionally make or try to make someone angry or offended, especially someone more powerful than you:

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Svegliare il can che dorme has nothing to do with the powerful of the "opponent", the risk of "injuries" or similar concerns. It means that (for example in my situation) if you just shut the quack you will probably live in peace for months, maybe for years, while if you want to say something about this situation, you will probably get some tough nuts to crack

When it comes to the slight nuances we're discussing, people use idioms differently--regional differences, generational differences, personal differences. The difference for me between "don't poke the bear" and "let sleeping dogs lie," now that I'm thinking about it, has to do with whether there's an imminent threat (the bear could attack you even if you don't poke it, so poking it would be really stupid) or not (the sleeping dogs pose no threat as long as you let them sleep, and they might sleep forever, or wake up in a good mood if you leave them alone). For me, "let sleeping dogs lie" is close to "let bygones be bygones."

If someone said they planned to sue me, but hasn't gotten around to doing it (yet?), the threat is still there. Writing to this person to say "since you haven't sued me, I consider the matter closed" will just remind them of their grievance, which may well make them decide to bring that lawsuit after all. To me, this is "poking the bear": irritating someone or exacerbating something that already poses a threat, for whatever reason. (The person doesn't have to be powerful--maybe the guy's a nobody and his lawsuit is frivolous and would get thrown out of court, but you've still got the nuisance and expense of hiring a lawyer, etc.)

For an example of the other idiom, let's say I get in an argument with a colleague. We agree to disagree, and there are some lingering hard feelings on both sides, but after a few days, we've let it slide and are back to being friends. Then I discover some evidence that definitively proves I was right. Do I go to his office and tell him about it? Who knows what could happen? He might cheerfully concede, or he might be annoyed that I'm rubbing it in his face, or it might start the argument up all over again. In this case, I could decide instead to just "let sleeping dogs lie."

giginho said:

Logically speaking weaking a dog and poking a bear could be both dangerous activities, having interesting outcomes for sure.

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Maybe a wild dog. Not likely with a domestic one. 🙂

You little ripper! said:

Maybe a wild dog. Not likely with a domestic one. 🙂

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Dunno....I like cats!!!!

For sure you are right YLR, and I really appreciate Arti's explanation about the two idioms.

Thanks to you all guys!!