What it means
A red herring is a false lead or distraction that pulls people away from the real issue. You hear it in arguments, politics, journalism, and crime stories when someone lobs in a side point that sounds juicy but isn't actually the thing that matters. In mysteries, it's the clue that sends everyone sniffing down the wrong alley.
Usage examples
"He kept banging on about the spelling mistake in my report, but that was a red herring. The real issue was the dodgy numbers."
"The mysterious phone call turned out to be a red herring, it had nothing to do with the missing money at all."
"Do not get distracted by that statistic, it is a red herring that pulls the debate away from the real issue."
"That whole rant about her tone was a red herring, mate. Everyone knew the real problem was the deal had gone sideways."
"The film chucks in a creepy neighbour as a red herring, then flips it and shows he had nothing to do with it."
Where it comes from
The phrase is old and turns up in English by the early 1800s. It links to stories about a strongly smoked herring, reddish and pungent, being used to confuse scent hounds by dragging it across a trail. From there, red herring settled into its figurative sense of a misleading clue or distraction.
Other ways to say it
This expression also appears in
