something intended to divert
attention from the real
problem or
matter at
hand; a misleading clue. Red
herring is
herring that has been cured by
smoke, a
process that changes the
color of the flesh to a reddish hue. Its persistent
odor is very useful, if trailed over the
ground, for
training a
dog to follow a
scent. But a
dog which gets a good whiff of red
herring will
lose any other
scent that it has been
following. Criminals who have been chased by bloodhounds have used this
knowledge to advantage. Thus the expression to
drag a red
herring over the trail and
similar expressions are used to
refer to anything which misleads one or causes one to
lose the trail.
—SHSBC Binder 1 Glossary, —SHSBC Binder 10 Approved Glossary, —FPRD Glossary (approved 30-8-90), —Academy Level II Glossary, —OT 6 - Valences, Circuits, Approved April 1991, —Future Org Trends Approved 4.3.91, —Academy Level I Glossary - Approved November 1990, —3rd South African unpublished Appr GLS (19.3.92), —3rd South African published appr gls (14.4.92), —SHSBC Binder 9 Approved Glossary, —SHSBC Binder 8 Approved Glossary, —SHSBC Binder 2 Approved Glossary, —SHSBC Binder 6 Approved Glossary, —SHSBC Binder 11 Approved Glossary, —SHSBC Binder 14 Approved Glossary, —SHSBC Binder 18 Approved Glossary, —SHSBC Binder 26 Approved Glossary