What does the term "a red herring" mean? Where did it come from?

Answer 1

From the Oxford English Dictionary:
: "To draw a red herring across the track" (cf. quot. 1686 . . . ): to attempt to divert attention from the real question; hence "red-herring," a subject intended to have this effect.
: [The "quot. 1686":] "The trailing or dragging of a dead Cat, or Fox, (and in case of necessity a Red-Herring) three or four miles . . . and then laying the Dogs on the scent" (Nicholas Cox, "The Gentleman's Recreation," 1686).
: (Red herrings are literally herrings that turn red when cured by smoking.)
A red herring is an alternative, somewhat old fashioned, name for a smoked herring. Such fish have a very strong smell and were usually known, not as kippers, but as red herrings in many parts of 19th century Britain. Because of their smell they were good at masking other smells; as a result they could easily cover the scent of a fox. A red herring pulled across the trail could divert the hounds onto a false path. Thus, by analogy, the phrase came to be used to describe any false trail

Answer 2

What Does Red Herring Mean

Answer 3

People who objected to fox hunting in England would drag a smoked herring across the patch of the hounds. The houds would lose the scent and follow the path of the herring.

Smoking a herring turns it red.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term was first used in print in 1863.

Answer 4

A red herring is actually a "smoked herring" Evidently herring turn red when cured. Supposedly used by fugitives to put bloodhounds off their scent (1686), hence metaphoric sense (1884) of "something used to divert attention from the basic issue."

Answer 5

A Red Herring is a fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue. The basic idea is to "win" an argument by leading attention away from the argument and to another topic.
A "red herring" argument is one which distracts the audience from the issue in question through the introduction of information that is unnecessary or irrelevant.

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What does the term "a red herring" mean? Where did it come from?

Answer 7

"A red herring" means a smoked herring from the fish category, a misleading clue (like from Scooby Doo, or Spy kids 3D: Game over with the deciever), Or it could mean any similar tentative financial prospectus.
"A Red Herring" comes from the 1947 suspence film "The Spiral Staircase" where one person 'Mr. Oates' is appeared to be the murderer when he is not though he looks sinister. Making him, the "Red Herring".

Answer 8

what is a red herring relating to stock market

Answer 9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring

This is a very handy site to visit before posting questions, by the way. I highly suggest it to anyone.

Answer 10

you cant get red herrings, so a red herring doesnt exist..... and a 'red herring' doesnt exist either.