sleeping

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | 675 words | Copyright

sleeping let sleeping dogs lie proverbial saying, late 14th century, meaning that something which may be dangerous or difficult to handle is better left undisturbed. (The kind of dog in the saying is typically a hound or mastiff.)
Sleeping Beauty the heroine of a fairy-tale, Charles Perrault's La belle au bois dormant, who is put under a curse by a resentful fairy who has not been invited to her christening; as a result, the princess pricks her finger on a spindle and falls into a sleep which last for a hundred years, while a hedge of briars grows up around the sleeping palace. Finally a young prince finds his way into the castle and wakes the princess with a kiss.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sleeping." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sleeping." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-sleeping.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sleeping." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-sleeping.html

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