bark up the wrong tree
English
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bark up the wrong tree
Where it comes from
An allusion to a situation in which a hunting dog misidentifies the tree up which it has chased an animal and positions itself at the base of another tree, barking upward at the branches.
verb barks up the wrong tree · barking up the wrong tree · barked up the wrong tree
- To take the wrong approach to a situation; to follow a false lead; to attempt to solve a problem using mistaken assumptions about its true nature. The investigator spent days trying to prove the butler committed the murder, but it turns out he was barking up the wrong tree.
Translations
Every language
verb bark up the wrong tree
| Español | errar el tiro, petar a la puerta equivocado |
|---|---|
| Português | bater à porta errada, bater na porta errada |
| Français | faire fausse route, se mettre le doigt dans l'œil, miser sur le mauvais cheval, se tromper de cible |
| Deutsch | auf dem Holzweg sein |
| Italiano | prendere un granchio |
| Русский | напа́сть на ло́жный след napástʹ na lóžnyj sled, не тем заниматься ne tem zanimatʹsja, не в ту степь поехать ne v tu stepʹ pojexatʹ |
| עברית | טעה בכתובת ta'á bak'tóvet, טיפס על העץ הלא נכון tipés ál ha'éts haló nakhón |
Talk about this word "bark up the wrong tree." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bark%20up%20the%20wrong%20tree. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bark up the wrong tree. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bark%20up%20the%20wrong%20tree "bark up the wrong tree." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bark%20up%20the%20wrong%20tree.Cite this
@misc{bark_up_the_wrong_tree_2026,
title = {bark up the wrong tree},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bark%20up%20the%20wrong%20tree},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
