We all know what it means. But how on earth did it get that name? And what do dogs have to do with stinky, pickled fish, hmmm?
Well, one theory is that people who used to train hunting dogs with herring (which turn red when pickled just so).
Once the dogs grew skilled at following the fishy trails, they used more subtly scented objects to fine tune their skills, like dead badgers, which apparently possess a far more delicate kind of stench.
Anywho, the trainers supposedly crossed the scent trail with a perpendicular trail of red herring juice or shmears, in order to throw the dog off and teach it not to be distracted by the familiar fish odor.
Well. That's all nice but it's probably the true origin of the term. It comes from William Cobbett, who in 1807 complained about the false journalistic reporting the Napoleon was defeated. He'd once used a red herring to turn dogs away from attacking a hare. His quote, "It was a mere transitory effect of the red-herring, for on the Saturday, the scent became as cold as stone" was repeated enough that the idiom eventually stuck.
Red herrings seem to be of more use in mystery plots. Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edgar Allen Poe are famous for using red herrings in their plots.
So there you have it. Happy Friday everyone. Now. Let's crack open a cozy mystery and hey...
...does anyone fancy a kipper?