Red herring
WordNet
noun
(1) Any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue
(2) 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"
(3) A dried and smoked herring having a reddish color
WiktionaryText
Etymology
Until 2008, the accepted etymology of the idiom was that red herring were used to train dogs to track scents. This has proven to be a false etymology.
It originated from a news story by English journalist William Cobbett, c. 1805, in which he claimed that as a boy he used a red herring (a cured and salted herring) to mislead hounds following a trail; the story served as an extended metaphor for the London press, which had earned Cobbett's ire by publishing false news accounts regarding Napoleon.
Noun
- A smoke-cured and salt-brined herring strong enough to turn the flesh red; a type of kipper.
- "Up in the morning, and had some red herrings to our breakfast, while my boot-heel was a-mending, by the same token the boy left the hole as big as it was before." (Samuel Pepys diary entry of 28 February 1660)
- A clue that is misleading or that has been falsified, intended to divert attention.