to bark up the wrong tree

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

A common expression at the West, denoting that a person has mistaken his object, or is pursuing the wrong course to obtain it. A metaphor of Western origin. In hunting, a dog drives a squirrel or other game into a tree, where, by a constant barking, he attracts its attention, until the hunter arrives. Sometimes the game escapes, or the dog is deceived and barks up the wrong tree.


When people try to hunt (office) for themselves, ...... and seem to be barking up the wrong sapling, I want to put them on the right trail.--Crockett's Tour, p.205.

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