"Dogs don't bark at parked cars"

Charles Doyle cdoyle at UGA.EDU
Fri Oct 26 14:36:34 UTC 2007


At least twice recently, Lynne Cheyney has quoted this "saying":

<< It reminds me of a saying we used to have in Wyoming, which is, Dogs don't bark at parked cars. >> (Interview in _Time_, 20 Sept. 2007)

<< And we have a saying in Wyoming, which goes like this, "Dogs don't bark at parked cars." >> (Interview on MSNBC, 11 Oct. 2007)

Of course, she is referring to denunciations of her husband.

Does anyone have any knowledge of the saying as a proverb? There are a few hundred Google hits--some dating from at least as far back as the early 1900s. Is the Wyoming connection just Mrs. Cheney's effort to seem folksy?

Any information will be appreciated!

--Charlie
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