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red herring
red herringn.1. A smoked herring having a reddish color.2. Something that draws attention away from the matter being discussed or dealt with.
[Sense 2, probably from the use of smoked herrings to lay scent trails for hounds to follow.]Word History: A red herring was originally a herring cured by smoking, a process that imparts a reddish color to its flesh. It is not known how red herring came to denote something that diverts the attention of observers or investigators, but the modern meaning may have arisen in connection with the sport of hunting. A clue to its origin is found in A Gentleman's Recreation, a guide to hounds, hawks, horses, and other hunting matters first published in 1674 by the Englishman Nicholas Cox. This enormously popular book went through many editions, and in it Cox describes a practice that may have given rise to the modern expression red herring. If the day's hunt has been uneventful and the huntsman's horse has been unable to work up a good sweat, Cox recommends having a dead cat or fox, or lacking these, a red herring, dragged over the countryside for about four miles, and then setting the hounds on the scent trail thus created. As a substitute for an animal carcass, a red herring would have been readily available in any English kitchen, and its pungent, fishy-smelling flesh would have left a scent that the hounds could track easily. By riding after the hounds as they followed the scent, the huntsman could ensure that his horse has received sufficient exercise. The modern meaning of the expression red herring was perhaps inspired by practices similar to this and developed from the notion of deliberately laying an artificial trail that could distract one's pursuers. However, the first known use of the term red herring in its modern sense, "something that distracts attention from an important issue," occurs in the 1800s, well after the publication of Cox's book.red herring n 1. anything that diverts attention from a topic or line of inquiry 2. (Cookery) a herring cured by salting and smoking red′ her′ring
n. 1. a smoked herring. 2. something intended to divert attention from the real problem or matter at hand; a misleading clue. 3. a tentative financial prospectus describing a proposed offering, as of stocks, that has not yet been officially registered or approved: so called because the front cover must carry a special notice printed in red. [1375–1425] red herring - Something intended to be misleading or distracting, so named from the practice of using the scent of red herring in training hounds.See also related terms for scent.red herringSomething intended to mislead or divert attention from something else; from the old practice of dragging a herring across a track to confuse tracking dogs.Thesaurus| Noun | 1. | red herring - any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issuedigression, divagation, diversion, deflexion, deviation, deflection - a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern); "a diversion from the main highway"; "a digression into irrelevant details"; "a deflection from his goal" | | 2. |  red herring - a dried and smoked herring having a reddish colorsmoked herringherring - valuable flesh of fatty fish from shallow waters of northern Atlantic or Pacific; usually salted or pickled | | 3. | red herring - 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"preliminary prospectuscourse catalog, course catalogue, prospectus - a catalog listing the courses offered by a college or university |
Translationsred (red) noun, adjective1. (of) the colour of blood. a red car/dress / cheeks; red cheeks; a red car/dress / cheeks; Her eyes were red with crying. 紅色的 红色的2. (of hair or fur) (of) a colour which varies between a golden brown and a deep reddish-brown. (頭髮、毛髮)褐紅色的 褐红色的3. (a) communist. Red China; A lot of his university friends are Reds. 共黨(份子) 共产党人the Red Army the army of the former USSR. 紅軍 红军ˈredden verb1. to make or become red or redder. to redden the lips with lipstick. (使)變紅 使...变红2. to blush. She reddened as she realized her mistake. 臉紅 脸红ˈreddish adjective slightly red. reddish hair. 微紅的 淡红的ˈredness noun 紅色 红色ˈredcurrant noun a type of garden bush grown for its small red fruit. 紅醋栗 红浆果树丛红茶子 ˈredhead noun a person with red hair. 紅髮人 红发人red herring1. something that leads people away from the main point in a discussion. 讓注意力移離重點的事物 转移注意力的话（或事） 2. a false clue or line of enquiry. 假線索，障眼法 假线索ˌred-ˈhot adjective (of metal etc) so hot that it is glowing red. red-hot steel; This iron is red-hot. 紅熱的 赤热的Red Indian a North American Indian. 北美原住民 北美印第安人red-letter day a day which will always be remembered because of something especially good that happened on it. 紀念日，節日 纪念日，节日 red tape annoying and unnecessary rules and regulations. 繁文縟節 繁文缛节烦琐的规章 be in the red to be in debt. 負債，赤字 负债，亏损 catch red-handed to find (a person) in the act of doing wrong. The police caught the thief red-handed. 當場捉到 当场捉住see red to become angry. When he started criticizing my work, I really saw red. 生氣 发怒
red herring
red herringSomething irrelevant that diverts attention away from the main problem or issue. The candidate used the minor issue as a red herring to distract voters from the corruption accusations against him. The mystery writer is known for introducing red herrings to arouse the reader's suspicion of innocent characters.See also: herring, redred herringa piece of information or suggestion introduced to draw attention away from the real facts of a situation. (A red herring is a type of strong-smelling smoked fish that was once drawn across the trail of a scent to mislead hunting dogs and put them off the scent.) The detectives were following a red herring, but they're on the right track now. The mystery novel has a couple of red herrings that keep readers off guard.See also: herring, redred herringSomething that draws attention away from the central issue, as in Talking about the new plant is a red herring to keep us from learning about downsizing plans . The herring in this expression is red and strong-smelling from being preserved by smoking. The idiom alludes to dragging a smoked herring across a trail to cover up the scent and throw off tracking dogs. [Late 1800s] See also: herring, reda red herring COMMON If something is a red herring, it takes people's attention away from the main subject, problem, or situation that they should be considering. All the fuss about high pay for public employees is a bit of a red herring. The really serious money is to be found in private companies. A sighting of the missing woman in London turned out to be a red herring. Note: A red herring is a herring that has been soaked in salt water for several days, and then dried by smoke. Red herrings were sometimes used when training dogs to follow a scent. They were also sometimes used to distract dogs from the scent they were following during a hunt. See also: herring, reda red herring something, especially a clue, which is or is intended to be misleading or distracting. This expression derives from the former practice of using the pungent scent of a dried smoked herring to teach hounds to follow a trail (smoked herrings were red in colour as a result of the curing process).See also: herring, reda red ˈherring a fact, etc. which somebody introduces into a discussion because they want to take people’s attention away from the main point: Look, the situation in French agriculture is just a red herring. We’re here to discuss the situation in this country.This idiom comes from the custom of using the scent of a smoked, dried herring (which was red) to train dogs to hunt.See also: herring, redred herringA diversionary tactic; a false or deliberately misleading trail. This expression comes from the use of strong-smelling smoked herrings as a lure to train hunting dogs to follow a scent. They also could be used to throw dogs off the scent, and it was this characteristic that was transferred to the metaphoric use of red herring. “Diverted from their own affairs by the red herring of foreign politics so adroitly drawn across the trail,” wrote W. F. Butler (Life of Napier, 1890).See also: herring, redred herringA misleading clue. Many people who know the phrase believe it came from the practice of game poachers laying scents of smoked herring (smoking accounted for the fish's reddish color) to throw gamekeepers and their dogs off the poachers' scent. However, etymologists discount that explanation, favoring instead that the phrase originated with an English writer who used the scent-laying image as a metaphor for a particular political plan. Mystery writers, readers, and critics use “red herring” to describe a piece of plotting intended to throw the reader off in deducing who-done-it. The financial world uses the phrase to mean a stock prospectus, not from any intent to deceive, but because the document has a red cover.See also: herring, redEncyclopediaSeeRedred herring
An unusual clinical, radiologic or pathologic finding that should be ignored in the context of a patient’s diseasered herring Medtalk An unusual clinical, radiologic or pathologic finding that should be ignored in the context of a Pt's disease. See Sutton's law. Cf 'Zebras. '.red herring
Red herringA preliminary prospectus providing information required by the SEC. It excludes the offering price and the coupon of the new issue.Preliminary ProspectusThe first prospectus distributed prior to a new issue of a security. The first prospectus contains information such as the terms of issue, the size of issue, and other, relevant data about the security. Importantly, however, it does not contain the new issue's price. Because the preliminary prospectus is subject to change and because the SEC requires part of it to be printed to red ink, it is informally called a red herring.red herring A prospectus that is given to potential investors in a new security issue before the selling price has been set and before the issuer's registration statement has been approved for accuracy and completeness by the SEC. This document, which provides details of the issue and facts concerning the issuer, is so named because of a statement on it, printed in red, that the issue has not yet been approved by the SEC. Also called preliminary prospectus.Red herring.When a security is offered to the public for the first time, the underwriter prepares a preliminary prospectus, called a red herring. While the name may refer to the parts of the document printed in red ink, the implication is that the document has been written to present the company in the best possible light. The reference is to the rather distinctive odor of the fish in question, which, the story goes, fleeing fugitives sometimes used to throw bloodhounds off their scent. Although the preliminary prospectus contains important information about the company, its offerings, financial projections, and investment risk, it is customarily revised before the final version is issued. red herringA proposed prospectus that has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) but not approved by it.Its purpose is to determine the extent of public interest in an issue while it is being reviewed by the SEC. Called a red herring because of the red ink around the border of the front page. AcronymsSeeRhred herring
Related to red herring: Red herring prospectus, Red herring fallacySynonyms for red herringnoun any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issueRelated Words- digression
- divagation
- diversion
- deflexion
- deviation
- deflection
noun a dried and smoked herring having a reddish colorSynonymsRelated Wordsnoun a first draft of a prospectusSynonymsRelated Words- course catalog
- course catalogue
- prospectus
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