red herring

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.

But in the case of Iran, the whole exercise is a bit of a red herring.

From Slate • Mar. 11, 2026

Firm jobs growth could also be a "red herring," warned EY-Parthenon chief economist Gregory Daco in a recent note.

From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026

This subsidy thing is, again, a red herring.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

Kim, the deputy director of North Korea's propaganda department, said Seoul's claim was an "unfounded unilateral supposition and a red herring".

From BBC • Aug. 13, 2025

As we saw in chapter 4, many prepositions, such as after and before, take either one, so the question of whether like is a conjunction is a red herring.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker