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
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2025
As traditional red herrings abound, so to do the beguiling situations bonding Ally and Jay.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 31 Jan. 2025
An early pratfall involving a faulty dishwasher proves a red herring; the director Lawrence Lamont and the screenwriter Syreeta Singleton find their best humor on the character level, in clever dialogue and sharp line deliveries from the entire ensemble.
—Natalia Winkelman, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
Plus, experts say Kennedy's focus on banning certain ingredients may be a bit of a red herring.
—Monica Potts, ABC News, 12 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 4 Mar. 2025.
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