barking up the wrong tree
Pursuing false leads
Barking up the wrong tree is pursuing a mistaken course of action or making a false assumption.
The image is of a hunting dog that has chased quarry up one tree but stands baying at another: If you think I took your keys, you're barking up the wrong tree.
- wild goose chaseHopeless pursuit of nothing
- fool's errandHopeless, pointless task
- red herringIntentional misleading distraction
- false leadMisleading clue or trail
- blind alleyPassage without outlet
wrong track · off base · off the mark · trial and error · confusion · hit the nail on the head · chasing rainbows · tilting at windmills · misfire · misinterpretation · jumping to conclusions · cry wolf · mistaken identity · missing the mark · lost · wrong direction · misstep · futile
- folk sayingsproverb, adage, maxim, folk saying, old saying
- common sayingsproverbs, idioms, cliches, maxims, adages
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, break a leg
- misunderstandingsmisunderstanding, misinterpretation, misconception, misreading, miscommunication
- proverbsproverbs, sayings, maxims, adages, aphorisms
- farm idiomsmake hay while the sun shines, cream of the crop, put the cart before the horse, till the cows come home, buy the farm
barking up the wrong treeon the right track
Proceeding toward success
hitting the nail on the head · on target · on the money · spot on · zeroing in
wrongly, wronged, barking, barked, barker, arboretum, arboreal, wrongness, barkers