false clue
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ackroyd equates a MacGuffin with a red herring, which means almost the opposite: a false clue.
From Washington Post • Oct. 19, 2016
You may think the scene is some kind of a MacGuffin, a false clue, but it isn't.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 29, 2012
That, too, could be a false clue, since everything Nicholson does can be attributed to psychosis, to a weakened mind placed under intolerable pressure by isolation.
From Time Magazine Archive
Anticipating his value as a beautiful false clue, Dorking laughed uproariously at the sight of him, and readily agreed to buy a French poodle.
From The King of Schnorrers Grotesques and Fantasies by Zangwill, Israel
She ran ahead of him with youthful eagerness, examining the ground, following a false clue with great animation, and confessing her defeat with a charming laugh.
From Trent's Trust, and Other Stories by Harte, Bret
