something irrelevant that distracts you from something important
a clue meant to mislead you
Literal meaning: A small, smoked silvery fish, which is turned red and dry by the smoke.
The new law is just a red herring meant to draw our attention away from the issues regarding education.
The new coffee cart is a red herring. They are hoping we forget about all of the overtime that we have to work.
The author introduced a red herring into the plot to keep you guessing.
Recent speech of the Prime Minister is mere a red herring – he actually tried to mislead the whole nation.
I have come to know that the tall story she told me, was a red herring in reality.
There is no origin for this idiom
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definition
Common phrase that has a specific meaning.