red herring
Meaning: Something used to divert someone's attention from the real or important issue; something used to send a searcher in the wrong direction.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Category: Daily Life
Origin: The expression originates from the fact that a red (smoked) herring has a powerful and persistent odor. Centuries ago red herring was used to train dogs to track scents. Those hoping to misdirect tracking dogs would drag red herring across their trails since a dog that gets a whiff of red herring will lose any other scent that it has been following. This expression is often used in the context of mystery stories.
More idioms — Daily Life
- red-letter day — An important day; a day to remember.
- red tape — The unnecessary paperwork and procedures of a complicated bureaucracy.
- rest on one's laurels — To be so satisfied with what one has already accomplished that one no longer works very h…
- ring a bell — To stir something in one's memory; to cause someone to remember something.
- roll with the punches — To adjust to bad fortune; to take a relaxed attitude towards life and its problems.
- see someone or something through rose-colored glasses — To see something in a falsely good way; not to see something objectively.
More English idioms
- rub elbows with someone — To associate with someone; to come into contact with someone.
- rub someone the wrong way — To irritate someone.
- run amok — To run around in a frenzied or disorderly way.
- run circles around someone — To outperform someone by a wide margin; to be better than someone.
- run its course — To follow a natural progression without interference.
- run-of-the-mill — Ordinary or usual.
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