red herringn.

Brit.

/ˌrɛd ˈhɛrɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˌrɛd ˈhɛrɪŋ/

Forms: see red adj. and n. and herring n.

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: red adj., herring n.

Etymology: < red adj. + herring n. Compare post-classical Latin allec rubeum , allec rufum , allec sorum (from 13th cent. in British sources), Anglo-Norman and Middle French hareng sor (c1290 in the passage glossed in quot. a1333 at sense 1a; French hareng saur).In sense 1c so called on account of the red colour of their uniforms. In sense 2 with reference to the former practice of laying trails for hounds to follow, ultimately to exercise horses which followed the hounds; red herring could be used for this purpose (among other things; compare quot. 1599 at Compounds and 1697 at sense 1b; compare also drag n. 6b). Such a trail was artificial and therefore false as opposed to the trail of real game in a hunt. In the 19th cent., the artificial trail was wrongly perceived to have been a deliberate attempt to distract the hounds (compare e.g. quots. 1836 and 1877 at sense 2), but there is no evidence for such a practice, and it is likely that this interpretation originated in a politically motivated fictional tale by W. Cobbett (in the same source as quot. 1807 at sense 2). See further Comments on Etymol. (2000) 30 i. 20–4. In sense 3 with reference to the red colour of the advisory notice historically printed on such a prospectus.

a. Regarded collectively: dried smoked herring, turned a reddish-brown colour in the curing process.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > seafood > [noun] > fish > cured fish > smoked fish

red herringa1399

bloat herringa1586

fumade1599

sore1600

Yarmouth capona1661

kipper1769

finnana1774

Norfolk capon1785

bukkama1805

soldier1811

bloater1832

Yarmouth bloater1832

finnie haddie1851

Californian1873

smoky1891

two-eyed steak1893

finney1906

buckling1909

lox1937

nova1964

a1333 Gloss. W. de Bibbesworth (BL Add.) (1929) 314 (MED) Heryng red [glossing Fr. haranc sor].]

a1399 in W. G. Benham Oath Bk. Colchester (1907) 8 (MED) 1 last de red heryng meysed caded, iiij d.

c1430 in K. W. Engeroff Untersuchung ‘Usages of Winchester’ (1914) 63 (MED) Euerich sellere of rede heryng..schal to þe kynge v d.

a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 54 (MED) Cover þy white heryng for goddys sake; Þen cover red heryng and set abufe.

a1525 Coventry Leet Bk. 382 No man frohensfurth make red heryng within þis Cite.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 12 Here is a good handsome rooffe.., well stored with redde Hearing, Bacon, and Martilmas beefe.

1633 J. Hart Κλινικη i. xxi. 91 Some are salted, and afterwards hung up and dried: and then wee call them Red-hering.

1733 G. Cheyne Eng. Malady ii. ix. 215 The Use of salt Sturgeon, red Herring, Anchovies, pickled Oysters, Salmon-gundy, Ham, pickled and potted Foods of all Kinds, for a Provocative.

1837 F. Marryat Snarleyyow (ed. 2) II. xv. 293 Smallbones..asked his master, as he cleared away, whether he should keep the red-herring for the next day.

1914 Times 8 June 19/1 The kipper..and the red herring, have an excellent reputation as a breakfast dish.

1955 F. G. Ashbrook Butchering xii. 244 Hard-smoked or red herring may require 3 or 4 weeks.

1993 Guardian 12 Nov. ii. 4/5 The herring is gutted and opened out flat before smoking to produce a kipper, while the red herring is smoked for far longer period and retains its uncut fishy form.

b. A herring that has been dried and smoked.

ΚΠ

c1450 in W. R. Dawson Leechbk. (1934) 56 (MED) Take sourdingh that is clepid bebyn & the white row of a rede herynge and honey, and stamp all yfere & make a playster.

a1500 Mock Serm. in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 83 (MED) Ther wer laft no moo on lyve but iij rede heyrynges.

1561 in F. J. Furnivall Child-marriages, Divorces, & Ratifications Diocese Chester (1897) 70 Stockfishe, red heringes and such marchaundrie wares.

1620 T. Venner Via Recta iv. 77 Red Herrings and Sprats giue a very bad and adusted nourishment.

1697 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation (ed. 4) v. vi. 59 The trailing or dragging of a dead Cat, or Fox, (and in case of necessity a Red-Herring) three or four Miles..and then laying the Dogs on the scent.

1723 B. Mandeville Fable Bees (ed. 2) i. 263 Red-Herrings, Pickl'd-Sturgeon,..and every thing that was proper to make their Liquour go down with Pleasure.

1797 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 485/2 Such as are kept to make red herrings are washed in great vats in fresh water.

a1818 M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. India Proprietor (1834) 106 The slaves also receive..a regular weekly allowance of red herrings and salt meat, which serves to relish their vegetable diet.

1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus 87 A display of joints, cauliflowers, and red herrings.

1917 Times 3 Mar. 7/3 ‘Red’ herrings are at the present time the cheapest form of food we have.

1962 S. W. Taylor tr. P. Zumthor Daily Life Rembrandt's Holland (1963) 72 During the weeks following the annual fishing expedition..raw herring fillets were eaten as a delicacy. Later in the season, red herrings took their place.

2001 R. Kenna Glasgow Pub Compan. (ed. 2) 21 In Georgian times, Glasgow's taverns offered a wide range of delicacies, including red herrings, known as ‘Glasgow magistrates’.

c. slang. A soldier. Cf. soldier n. 3g. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > [noun]

thanec893

knightc1175

soldiera1300

osteyoura1450

servitor?1570

marshalman1575

soldado1577

soldat1591

manat1610

camper1631

soldade1634

buff coata1670

swad1708

militaire1746

red herring1789

coolie1803

swaddy1819

swad-gill1819

scarlet runnerc1864

guffy1882

leatherneck1890

pongo1890

hoster1892

swatty1901

file1903

squaddie1933

brown job1943

1789 J. O'Keeffe Highland Reel i. 21 Serj. I tell you you'd make a develish good soldier. Shel. That's more than my daddy cou'd. Serj. Ha, ha, ha! you're an odd fish! Shel. Yes, but I won't be a red herring.

1853 G. A. Sala Slang in Househ. Words 24 Sept. 75/2 A soldier [is called] a swaddy, a lobster, a red herring.

1905 J. S. Farmer Dict. Slang & Colloquial Eng. 370/2 Red-herring, a soldier: cf. Soldier, a red-herring.

2. figurative and in figurative contexts. A clue or piece of information which is or is intended to be misleading, or is a distraction from the real question.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [noun] > irrelevancy > something irrelevant > subject, argument, etc.

ignoratio elenchi1559

red herring1807

1807 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 14 Feb. 233 Alas! it was a mere transitory effect of the political red-herring; for, оn the Saturday, the scent became as cold as a stone.

1836 Times 12 Aug. 4/7 Mr. Rice called Lord Lyndhurst's intimation that the Government might take off the whole of the stamp duty ‘a false drag—the scent of a red-herring to draw off the hounds’.

1877 N.Z. Parl. Deb. 24 335/1 This compensation question is merely a red herring drawn across the scent, in order to capsize the Bill.

1884 Liverpool Daily Post 11 July 5/4 The talk of revolutionary dangers is a mere red-herring.

1900 Westm. Gaz. 2 Feb. 2/1 Not to be put off the main line of attack by the red-herrings of an unreformed War Office.

1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 10 Aug. 105/1 Both the Opposition parties are trying to drag in the Protectionist red herring in the vain hope of causing dissension.

1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes 9 If they chivvied him, he would raise the red herring of his projected work.

1991 A. J. Pollard Richard III & Princes in Tower 127 Essentially the bones are a red herring. They cannot settle the question of whether Richard III murdered the princes.

2001 J. Le Fanu They don't know what's Wrong i. 14 The truth is then overlooked, as the doctor gets sidetracked by the red herring of a misleading diagnosis.

3. Finance (originally U.S.). More fully red herring prospectus. = pathfinder prospectus n. at pathfinder n. Compounds.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > specific operations or arrangements > promoting joint-stock company > related documentation

red herring1935

pathfinder prospectus1984

1935 N.Y. Times 23 July 27/2 Protests have been heard recently against misuse of the ‘red herring’ prospectus.

1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 30 Dec. c7 All of the pertinent information about a new issue is available either in a ‘red herring’ prior to an offering or in the prospectus once the offering has been completed.

2004 R. F. Bruner Appl. Mergers & Acquisitions xxvii. 737 During the waiting period, it is unlawful to consummate a sale. This is the time in which one circulates a red herring prospectus.

Phrases

neither fish, (nor) flesh, nor good red herring and variants: see fish n.¹ Phrases 2.

Compounds

General attributive (in senses 1 and 2).

ΚΠ

c1450 in W. R. Dawson Leechbk. (1934) 236 Take a red herynge nek or ij & stamp it and temper it with ale..and wasshe the soore þer with.

1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 70 Next, to draw on hounds to a sent, to a redde herring skinne there is nothing comparable.

a1605 W. Haughton English-men for my Money (1616) sig. B2^v [I] looke like nothing but Red-Herring Cobbes, and Stock-Fish.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Herring Such as are kept to make Red Herrings..are hanged up in the Herring-Hangs, or Red Herring Houses.

1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. viii. 115 He has his wife on board, who is a red-herring sort of a lady, and very troublesome to boot.

1954 E. Huxley Four Guineas (1955) 205 The small vices of officialdom, the stupidities, muddles and red-herring-chases that quite often occur, seem, after the lurid episodes of history, very small beer.

2005 T. Bowell & G. Kemp Crit. Thinking (ed. 2) iv. 163 The red herring fallacy occurs when irrelevant premises are given as a reason for accepting a conclusion.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	red herring
释义	red herringn. Brit. /ˌrɛd ˈhɛrɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌrɛd ˈhɛrɪŋ/ Forms: see red adj. and n. and herring n. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: red adj., herring n. Etymology: < red adj. + herring n. Compare post-classical Latin allec rubeum , allec rufum , allec sorum (from 13th cent. in British sources), Anglo-Norman and Middle French hareng sor (c1290 in the passage glossed in quot. a1333 at sense 1a; French hareng saur).In sense 1c so called on account of the red colour of their uniforms. In sense 2 with reference to the former practice of laying trails for hounds to follow, ultimately to exercise horses which followed the hounds; red herring could be used for this purpose (among other things; compare quot. 1599 at Compounds and 1697 at sense 1b; compare also drag n. 6b). Such a trail was artificial and therefore false as opposed to the trail of real game in a hunt. In the 19th cent., the artificial trail was wrongly perceived to have been a deliberate attempt to distract the hounds (compare e.g. quots. 1836 and 1877 at sense 2), but there is no evidence for such a practice, and it is likely that this interpretation originated in a politically motivated fictional tale by W. Cobbett (in the same source as quot. 1807 at sense 2). See further Comments on Etymol. (2000) 30 i. 20–4. In sense 3 with reference to the red colour of the advisory notice historically printed on such a prospectus. 1. a. Regarded collectively: dried smoked herring, turned a reddish-brown colour in the curing process. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > seafood > [noun] > fish > cured fish > smoked fish red herringa1399 bloat herringa1586 fumade1599 sore1600 Yarmouth capona1661 kipper1769 finnana1774 Norfolk capon1785 bukkama1805 soldier1811 bloater1832 Yarmouth bloater1832 finnie haddie1851 Californian1873 smoky1891 two-eyed steak1893 finney1906 buckling1909 lox1937 nova1964 a1333 Gloss. W. de Bibbesworth (BL Add.) (1929) 314 (MED) Heryng red [glossing Fr. haranc sor].] a1399 in W. G. Benham Oath Bk. Colchester (1907) 8 (MED) 1 last de red heryng meysed caded, iiij d. c1430 in K. W. Engeroff Untersuchung ‘Usages of Winchester’ (1914) 63 (MED) Euerich sellere of rede heryng..schal to þe kynge v d. a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 54 (MED) Cover þy white heryng for goddys sake; Þen cover red heryng and set abufe. a1525 Coventry Leet Bk. 382 No man frohensfurth make red heryng within þis Cite. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 12 Here is a good handsome rooffe.., well stored with redde Hearing, Bacon, and Martilmas beefe. 1633 J. Hart Κλινικη i. xxi. 91 Some are salted, and afterwards hung up and dried: and then wee call them Red-hering. 1733 G. Cheyne Eng. Malady ii. ix. 215 The Use of salt Sturgeon, red Herring, Anchovies, pickled Oysters, Salmon-gundy, Ham, pickled and potted Foods of all Kinds, for a Provocative. 1837 F. Marryat Snarleyyow (ed. 2) II. xv. 293 Smallbones..asked his master, as he cleared away, whether he should keep the red-herring for the next day. 1914 Times 8 June 19/1 The kipper..and the red herring, have an excellent reputation as a breakfast dish. 1955 F. G. Ashbrook Butchering xii. 244 Hard-smoked or red herring may require 3 or 4 weeks. 1993 Guardian 12 Nov. ii. 4/5 The herring is gutted and opened out flat before smoking to produce a kipper, while the red herring is smoked for far longer period and retains its uncut fishy form. b. A herring that has been dried and smoked. ΚΠ c1450 in W. R. Dawson Leechbk. (1934) 56 (MED) Take sourdingh that is clepid bebyn & the white row of a rede herynge and honey, and stamp all yfere & make a playster. a1500 Mock Serm. in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 83 (MED) Ther wer laft no moo on lyve but iij rede heyrynges. 1561 in F. J. Furnivall Child-marriages, Divorces, & Ratifications Diocese Chester (1897) 70 Stockfishe, red heringes and such marchaundrie wares. 1620 T. Venner Via Recta iv. 77 Red Herrings and Sprats giue a very bad and adusted nourishment. 1697 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation (ed. 4) v. vi. 59 The trailing or dragging of a dead Cat, or Fox, (and in case of necessity a Red-Herring) three or four Miles..and then laying the Dogs on the scent. 1723 B. Mandeville Fable Bees (ed. 2) i. 263 Red-Herrings, Pickl'd-Sturgeon,..and every thing that was proper to make their Liquour go down with Pleasure. 1797 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 485/2 Such as are kept to make red herrings are washed in great vats in fresh water. a1818 M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. India Proprietor (1834) 106 The slaves also receive..a regular weekly allowance of red herrings and salt meat, which serves to relish their vegetable diet. 1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus 87 A display of joints, cauliflowers, and red herrings. 1917 Times 3 Mar. 7/3 ‘Red’ herrings are at the present time the cheapest form of food we have. 1962 S. W. Taylor tr. P. Zumthor Daily Life Rembrandt's Holland (1963) 72 During the weeks following the annual fishing expedition..raw herring fillets were eaten as a delicacy. Later in the season, red herrings took their place. 2001 R. Kenna Glasgow Pub Compan. (ed. 2) 21 In Georgian times, Glasgow's taverns offered a wide range of delicacies, including red herrings, known as ‘Glasgow magistrates’. c. slang. A soldier. Cf. soldier n. 3g. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > [noun] thanec893 knightc1175 soldiera1300 osteyoura1450 servitor?1570 marshalman1575 soldado1577 soldat1591 manat1610 camper1631 soldade1634 buff coata1670 swad1708 militaire1746 red herring1789 coolie1803 swaddy1819 swad-gill1819 scarlet runnerc1864 guffy1882 leatherneck1890 pongo1890 hoster1892 swatty1901 file1903 squaddie1933 brown job1943 1789 J. O'Keeffe Highland Reel i. 21 Serj. I tell you you'd make a develish good soldier. Shel. That's more than my daddy cou'd. Serj. Ha, ha, ha! you're an odd fish! Shel. Yes, but I won't be a red herring. 1853 G. A. Sala Slang in Househ. Words 24 Sept. 75/2 A soldier [is called] a swaddy, a lobster, a red herring. 1905 J. S. Farmer Dict. Slang & Colloquial Eng. 370/2 Red-herring, a soldier: cf. Soldier, a red-herring. 2. figurative and in figurative contexts. A clue or piece of information which is or is intended to be misleading, or is a distraction from the real question. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [noun] > irrelevancy > something irrelevant > subject, argument, etc. ignoratio elenchi1559 red herring1807 1807 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 14 Feb. 233 Alas! it was a mere transitory effect of the political red-herring; for, оn the Saturday, the scent became as cold as a stone. 1836 Times 12 Aug. 4/7 Mr. Rice called Lord Lyndhurst's intimation that the Government might take off the whole of the stamp duty ‘a false drag—the scent of a red-herring to draw off the hounds’. 1877 N.Z. Parl. Deb. 24 335/1 This compensation question is merely a red herring drawn across the scent, in order to capsize the Bill. 1884 Liverpool Daily Post 11 July 5/4 The talk of revolutionary dangers is a mere red-herring. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 2 Feb. 2/1 Not to be put off the main line of attack by the red-herrings of an unreformed War Office. 1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 10 Aug. 105/1 Both the Opposition parties are trying to drag in the Protectionist red herring in the vain hope of causing dissension. 1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes 9 If they chivvied him, he would raise the red herring of his projected work. 1991 A. J. Pollard Richard III & Princes in Tower 127 Essentially the bones are a red herring. They cannot settle the question of whether Richard III murdered the princes. 2001 J. Le Fanu They don't know what's Wrong i. 14 The truth is then overlooked, as the doctor gets sidetracked by the red herring of a misleading diagnosis. 3. Finance (originally U.S.). More fully red herring prospectus. = pathfinder prospectus n. at pathfinder n. Compounds. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > specific operations or arrangements > promoting joint-stock company > related documentation red herring1935 pathfinder prospectus1984 1935 N.Y. Times 23 July 27/2 Protests have been heard recently against misuse of the ‘red herring’ prospectus. 1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 30 Dec. c7 All of the pertinent information about a new issue is available either in a ‘red herring’ prior to an offering or in the prospectus once the offering has been completed. 2004 R. F. Bruner Appl. Mergers & Acquisitions xxvii. 737 During the waiting period, it is unlawful to consummate a sale. This is the time in which one circulates a red herring prospectus. Phrases neither fish, (nor) flesh, nor good red herring and variants: see fish n.¹ Phrases 2. Compounds General attributive (in senses 1 and 2). ΚΠ c1450 in W. R. Dawson Leechbk. (1934) 236 Take a red herynge nek or ij & stamp it and temper it with ale..and wasshe the soore þer with. 1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 70 Next, to draw on hounds to a sent, to a redde herring skinne there is nothing comparable. a1605 W. Haughton English-men for my Money (1616) sig. B2^v [I] looke like nothing but Red-Herring Cobbes, and Stock-Fish. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Herring Such as are kept to make Red Herrings..are hanged up in the Herring-Hangs, or Red Herring Houses. 1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. viii. 115 He has his wife on board, who is a red-herring sort of a lady, and very troublesome to boot. 1954 E. Huxley Four Guineas (1955) 205 The small vices of officialdom, the stupidities, muddles and red-herring-chases that quite often occur, seem, after the lurid episodes of history, very small beer. 2005 T. Bowell & G. Kemp Crit. Thinking (ed. 2) iv. 163 The red herring fallacy occurs when irrelevant premises are given as a reason for accepting a conclusion. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022). > as lemmas red herring red herring n. a herring having a red colour from being cured by smoking; also figurative: see red herring n.extracted from herringn. < n.a1399 as lemmas
随便看	divingbladder divingboard divingboat divingbuck divingduck divingengine divinghelmet divingmachine divingpigeon divingplane divings divingspider divingsuit divinified divinify divining divining-rod divining-staff divining-stick divining-wand diviningrod diviningstaff diviningstick diviningwand divinipotent

red herringn.

Phrases

Compounds

> as lemmas