red herring
noun
Did you know?
Believe it or not, red herring has as much to do with hunting dogs as with brightly colored fish. Here's how: A herring is a soft-finned bony fish. People who like to eat herring have long preserved them by salting and slowly smoking them. That process makes a herring turn red or dark brown—and gives them a very strong smell. Dogs love to sniff such smelly treats, a fact that makes the fish a perfect diversion for anyone trying to distract hunting dogs from the trail of their quarry. The practice of using preserved fish to confuse hunting dogs led to the use of the term red herring for anything that diverts attention from the issue at hand.
Examples of red herring in a Sentence
Tim Ellis, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
The metaphor, while touching, is almost — almost — a red herring.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2025
This fundamental lack of logic trickles down to even the smallest moments: Alex seems to have no staff members in her congressional office; Roger is connected to every bad guy and red herring possible; and the commission only pursues investigative leads that Mullen personally develops.
—Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025
This is where the show’s fondness for pattern, symbolism, and self-awareness really shines, as season three becomes an endlessly generous source of theories, possibilities, red herrings, and feints.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for red herring
Cite this Entry
“Red herring.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20herring. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
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