Red Herring.
English
idiom
A false clue that leads people away from the truth.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
A false clue that leads people away from the truth.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
A detail that looks important but leads you away from the truth.
A red herring pulls attention toward the wrong thing, so the real cause or the real question goes unexamined.
It can be planted on purpose or appear by accident.
"Wild Goose Chase"
—
A search that wastes time and finds nothing
"Smoke and Mirrors"
—
A show designed to hide what's really happening
"Red Herring"
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A false clue that points the wrong way
I'd treat the error message as a red herring — it appears on healthy accounts too.
Good catch. Let's trace the failed payments instead and see what they share.
You keep bringing up the money, but I don't think that's it.
You're right, the money is a red herring. I'm worried about the move.
The article blames the weather for the whole delay.
That's a red herring — the trains were already running late all month.
