verb phrase🎓 English idiom

barking up the wrong tree

pursuing a mistaken line of thought or action

What it means

To pursue a mistaken or misguided course of action, or to blame or question the wrong person. It suggests your effort is sincere but completely misdirected.

Examples

  • If you think I took your keys, you're barking up the wrong tree.
  • The detectives spent weeks barking up the wrong tree before finding the real suspect.
  • You're barking up the wrong tree asking me for money; I'm broke too.
  • The company kept barking up the wrong tree, blaming staff for a software fault.

Where it comes from

The phrase comes from early 19th-century America and refers to hunting dogs that would chase prey up a tree, then bark at the base of the wrong one after the animal had moved on.

Related idioms

#miss the point#beat a dead horse#off the top of my head#jump the gun

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