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
Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 5 Nov. 2024
Even the red herrings wound up important to character development and/or plot points.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2024
Perfectly calibrated to inspire post-screening debates over whether character X or Y is guilty, When Fall Is Coming dispenses clues and red herrings masterfully but always holds just a little something back.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Sep. 2024
There are some red herrings that almost tripped me up.
—Kris Holt, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for red herring 
Dictionary Entries Near red herring
Cite this Entry
“Red herring.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20herring. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
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