red herring

Etymology
One possible origin of the idiom was that red herring were used to train dogs to track scents. This was true, but the modern meaning of a false trail may have been popularised in a news story by English journalist William Cobbett, c. 1805, in which he claimed that as a boy he used a red herring (a cured and salted herring) to mislead hounds following a trail; the story served as an extended metaphor for the London press, which had earned Cobbett's ire by publishing false news accounts regarding Napoleon. The OED has another possible earlier origin in the legacy of clergyman Jasper Mayne in 1672 when he misled a servant by leaving him "Somewhat that would make him Drink after his Death" in a large trunk. When the trunk was opened, the contents were found to be red herring.

An allusion to soldiers' red uniforms; is, reciprocally, a slang term for the fish.

Noun
(plural always "red herrings" for all senses except the literal fish, which may take either)


 * 1) A herring that is cured in smoke and brine strong enough to turn the flesh red; a type of kipper.
 * 2)  A clue, information, argument, etc. that is or is intended to be misleading, diverting attention from the real answer or issue.
 * 3)  A red herring prospectus.
 * 4)  A soldier.
 * 1)  A red herring prospectus.
 * 2)  A soldier.
 * 1)  A red herring prospectus.
 * 2)  A soldier.
 * 1)  A red herring prospectus.
 * 2)  A soldier.

Translations

 * Bulgarian: пушена херинга
 * Dutch: gerookte haring,
 * Finnish: savusilli
 * French:
 * German:
 * Greek: καπνιστή ρέγγα
 * Hungarian: füstölt hering, füstölt hering
 * Italian: aringa affumicata
 * Portuguese: arenque defumado, arenque fumado
 * Russian: копчёная селёдка
 * Spanish: arenque ahumado
 * Swedish:


 * Bulgarian:
 * Danish: falsk spor
 * Dutch: vals spoor,
 * Finnish: ,
 * French:, , , fausse piste
 * Georgian: სატყუარა
 * German: falsche Fährte, ,
 * Greek: ,
 * Hungarian: hamis/félrevezető nyom,
 * Italian: falsa pista, specchietto per le allodole
 * Norwegian: blindspor, feilspor
 * Polish: fałszywy trop,
 * Portuguese: pista falsa, cortina de fumaça
 * Romanian:
 * Russian: ло́жный след false track, заговаривание зубов
 * Slovak: falošná stopa
 * Spanish: pista falsa