a red herring

red herring

Something 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, red
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a 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, red
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a 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, red
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a 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, red
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • red herring
  • cross that bridge later
  • take issue
  • take issue with
  • take issue with (someone or something)
  • take issue with somebody
  • issue
  • at issue
  • cast an eye on (something)
  • cast an eye on something
References in periodicals archive
Singapore, Singapore, October 14, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Nearex, a Singapore technology start-up that's rapidly emerging as a category leader in the mobile micropayment domain announced that it is has been selected as a Red Herring Top 100 Asia Company.
Nearex Selected as a 2016 Red Herring Top 100 Asia Winner
High-Tech Bridge has been recognized as a Red Herring Europe 2016 winner for innovation and a sound business model for its Web Security Platform ImmuniWeb[R].
High-Tech Bridge picked 2016 Red Herring Europe winner
Venkatesh, CEO of DCI said, "As accolades always spur achievement, DCI is elated to be selected as a Red Herring 2011 global finalist and we look forward to competing for top honors.
Dot Com Infoway Shortlisted for the 2011 Red Herring Global Award
Julia Plumb, E London A A RED herring is a dried, smoked herring.
This is no red herring, honest; Question Time: yourletters
Each year, the competition gets tougher but we believe Wadaro Limited demonstrates the vision, drive and innovation that define a Red Herring Top 100.”
Wadaro Chosen as a 2015 Red Herring Europe Winner
By being a Red Herring Asia Winner, SwaaS Systems becomes eligible to be entered into the Red Herring Global Competition where the best of the best from Europe, Asia and North America will fight it out for the Red Herring Global Award.
SwaaS Systems selected as Red Herring Asia's Top 100 company for 2011
Red Herring maintains it is the only organization that requires as much disclosure and requires three validations in order to win a Red Herring award.
Asigra Wins Red Herring North American 100 Award
"Being a Red Herring Europe 100 winner is the testament of Sievo's relevant innovation in the Enterprise Procurement Software as a Service space," says Fabrice Saporito, Sievo's CEO.
Sievo is the 2013 Red Herring Top 100 Europe Winner
Each year, the competition gets tougher but we believe FRAFOS demonstrates the vision, drive and innovation that define a Red Herring winner.”
FRAFOS Chosen as a 2013 Red Herring Top 100 Europe Award Winner
Los Angeles, CA, December 02, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Solver, Inc., a global leader in Business Intelligence for Microsoft Dynamics AX, GP, NAV, SL and other enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, today announced it was selected as a Red Herring Top 100 award in recognition of the leading private companies from North America, Europe, and Asia, celebrating these startups' innovations and technologies across their respective industries.
Solver Selected as a 2012 Red Herring Top 100 Global
In 2010, Acqueon was selected as a Red Herring Top 100 North America Tech Startup.
Acqueon Technologies is a Finalist for the 2012 Red Herring 100 Global Award
Nominees must be privately held and must not have been previous winners of a Red Herring 100 regional award.
Call for Nominations: Red Herring Top 100 Americas
Venkatesh, CEO of DCI said, “As accolades always spur achievement, DCI is elated to be selected as a Red Herring 2011 global finalist and we look forward to competing for top honors.
Dot Com Infoway Shortlisted for the 2011 Red Herring Global Award
Santa Monica, CA, February 03, 2011 --(PR.com)-- GuardTime (http://www.guardtime.com), creator of the patented Keyless Signatures[TM] technology used to validate the world's data for applications such as secure cloud archiving, today announced it was honored with a Red Herring Global 100 innovation award selected from a field of 1,200 contestants.
GuardTime Awarded Red Herring Global 100 for Innovation