Definition

Noun: 1. A dried and smoked herring that is reddish-brown in color: This is the literal meaning, referring to a type of preserved fish. 2. Something that distracts attention from the real or important issue: This is the primary figurative meaning. A "red herring" is a misleading clue or piece of information that diverts people from the truth or the main subject of discussion.

Usage Examples

• Literal Meaning:
  • The old recipe called for a red herring to be grated into the stew.
• Figurative Meaning:
  • The politician's comments about his opponent's personal life were just a red herring to avoid discussing the economic policy.
  • In the mystery novel, the suspicious butler was a red herring; the real culprit was the quiet librarian.

Advanced Usage

• "To draw a red herring across the path/track": This older phrase means to introduce an irrelevant topic to divert attention or mislead someone.
  • During the debate, he tried to draw a red herring across the track by bringing up a decades-old scandal.

Variants and Related Words

• Red-herring (adjective, attributive): Used to describe something that serves as a distraction.
  • The detective warned his team about the red-herring clue left at the scene.

Synonyms

• Distraction: Something that prevents concentration.
• Diversion: An instance of turning attention from something.
• Decoy: A person or thing used to lure someone into a trap or situation.
• Misleading clue: A piece of evidence that points in the wrong direction.

Idioms and Phrases

• Neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring: An idiom describing something or someone that is difficult to classify or does not fit into any standard category; an oddity.
  • His proposal was neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring—it wasn't a budget cut, but it wasn't new spending either.

Noun

1. a first draft of a prospectus; must be clearly marked to indicate that parts may be changed in the final prospectus
   • because some portions of the cover page are printed in red ink a preliminary prospectus is sometimes called a red herring
2. a dried and smoked herring having a reddish color
3. any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue