red herring

red herring

n.

1. A smoked herring having a reddish color.

2. Something that draws attention away from the central issue.

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[From its use to distract hunting dogs from the trail.]

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red herring

Noun

something which diverts attention from the main issue

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	red herring - any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue digression, divagation, diversion, deflexion, deviation, deflection - a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern); "a diversion from the main highway"; "a digression into irrelevant details"; "a deflection from his goal"
	2.	red herring - a dried and smoked herring having a reddish color smoked herring herring - valuable flesh of fatty fish from shallow waters of northern Atlantic or Pacific; usually salted or pickled
	3.	red herring - 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" preliminary prospectus course catalog, course catalogue, prospectus - a catalog listing the courses offered by a college or university

Translations

red herring n (fig) → pista falsa

red herring n (fig) → diversion f, fausse piste

red herring red n (fig) → falsche Spur f

red herring n (fig) → falsa pista