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Synonyms for red herring

Grammar : Noun

Top 10 synonyms for red herring
Other synonyms for the word red herring

Définition of red herring

Origin :
  • "smoked herring" early 15c. (they turn red when cured), as opposed to white herring "fresh herring." Supposedly used by fugitives to put bloodhounds off their scent (1680s), hence metaphoric sense (1864) of "something used to divert attention from the basic issue;" earlier simply "a false lead":
  • Though I have not the honour of being one of those sagacious country gentlemen, who have so long vociferated for the American war, who have so long run on the red-herring scent of American taxation before they found out there was no game on foot; (etc.) [Parliamentary speech dated March 20, 1782, reprinted in "Beauties of the British Senate," London, 1786]
  • noun misleading clue
Example sentences :
  • No; honor would not do: it was only a red herring trailed across the scent.
  • Extract from : « Old Mole » by Gilbert Cannan
  • After all, she was merely "a red herring drawn across the trail," eh?
  • Extract from : « The Riddle of the Night » by Thomas W. Hanshew
  • He drew the red herring of the Reformation across the trail of the divorce.
  • Extract from : « Henry VIII and His Court » by Herbert Tree
  • It was a foregone conclusion that a red herring should become their sign after that!
  • Extract from : « Fanny Goes to War » by Pat Beauchamp
  • His first sign of recovery was his craving for a red herring.
  • Extract from : « The Narrative of Gordon Sellar Who Emigrated to Canada in 1825 » by Gordon Sellar
  • If I can tell which is the way to my master's house, I am a red herring, and no honest gentleman.
  • Extract from : « A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 10 (of 15) » by Various
  • This clever drawing of a red herring across the trail of the main issue answered.
  • Extract from : « A Veldt Official » by Bertram Mitford
  • And after the sausages had ceased to be, he lit a Red Herring cigarette and went swaggering out into the twilight street.
  • Extract from : « The Wheels of Chance » by H. G. Wells
  • His wife would be a dreadful person, thin, withered, herring-gutted—a sort of red herring with a cap.
  • Extract from : « Vain Fortune » by George Moore
  • The red herring of annexation was drawn across the trail, and many a farmer followed it to the polling booth.
  • Extract from : « The Canadian Dominion » by Oscar D. Skelton
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019