red herring

Definition of Red Herring in English :

1. red herring

any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue

2. red herring, smoked herring

a dried and smoked herring having a reddish color

a first draft of a prospectus; must be clearly marked to indicate that parts may be changed in the final prospectus

Example Sentences:
'because some portions of the cover page are printed in red ink a preliminary prospectus is sometimes called a red herring'

WordNet Lexical Database for English. Princeton University. 2010.

Red Herring

noun

1.

anything that diverts attention from a topic or line of inquiry

2.

a herring cured by salting and smoking

1.

a smoked herring

2.

something used to divert attention from the basic issue

from the practice of drawing a herring across the trace in hunting, to distract the hounds

3. Finance; Informal

a preliminary prospectus, subject to amendment, for an issue of securities

from the notice printed on the front in red ink

n.

1. A smoked herring having a reddish color.

2. Something that draws attention away from the matter being discussed or dealt with.