false trail
Intentional wrong direction
A false trail is a misleading path or line of inquiry that leads away from what's actually being sought.
Hunters may follow a false trail left by prey doubling back; detectives may pursue false trails planted by criminals.
The term applies broadly to any deceptive or mistaken direction: The confession turned out to be a false trail—he was covering for his brother.
- dead endPassage without outlet
- detourAlternate path around obstruction
- decoyFalse target for misdirection
- misleadCause false belief
- garden pathPaved way through plantings
illusion · red herring · feint · distraction · misinformation · obfuscation · wild goose chase · blind alley · hoax · cover story · smokescreen · bluff · camouflage · mirage · masquerade · bait-and-switch · snipe hunt · fool's errand
- deliberate deceptionsbluff, feint, misdirection, red herring, decoy
- red herringsdecoy, misdirection, wild goose chase, smokescreen, dead end
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- concealmentconceal, hiding, concealing, concealed, hide
- investigationinvestigation, detective, evidence, clue, case
- mysteriesmystery, enigma, enigmas, puzzle, riddle
false trailsmoking gun
Irrefutable proof of wrongdoing
breakthrough · direct evidence · proof · direct route · straight path
false, trail, falsely, falseness, falsity, falsify, falsification, falsified, falsifier