To have a wrong guess or idea about someone or some situation, efforts and attentions being diverted in a wrong direction
Etymology:
- The origins of this idiom are very interesting and they link to the colonial times in America. During raccoon hunting dogs would bark up a certain tree, on which a raccoon was present. Quite often the raccoon would jump on to different tree branches till the hunter came. This left the dog barking up the wrong tree and the hunter would keep on looking up the tree for any raccoons.
- 12 Views
“
John’s father wanted to make him an architect, but he was barking up the wrong tree.
Submitted on February 25, 2019
Additional definitions for 'Bark Up the Wrong Tree':
| bark up the wrong tree | To attempt or pursue the wrong thing; to take the wrong approach; to follow a false lead. |
Translation
Find a translation for the Bark Up the Wrong Tree phrase in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Nearby phrases
Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to Bark Up the Wrong Tree
fall into the wrong handscan't do right for doing wrongChristmas tree billbarking up the wrong tree!apple does not fall far from the treeBark is Worse than Your Bite3-on-the-treeas the twig is bent, so the tree's incl…get into the wrong handsdown the wrong alleycorrect me if I'm wrong3-on-the-tree3-on-the-treefruit of the poisonous tree
How to pronounce this phrase?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this Bark Up the Wrong Tree definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Bark Up the Wrong Tree." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/bark-up-the-wrong-tree_44473>.
Powered by CITE.ME
Discuss this Bark Up the Wrong Tree phrase with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In