Idiom
Barking up the wrong tree
If you are barking up the wrong tree, you are looking in the wrong place or blaming the wrong person.
How people use it
It usually takes the -ing form: you're barking up the wrong tree if you think I took your charger. It points out a mistaken idea, accusation or approach, such as chasing the wrong cause of a problem. It is informal and can be mildly teasing or quite firm. The base form, bark up the wrong tree, is also used: don't bark up the wrong tree.
Also said: bark up the wrong tree.
Examples
- If you think the cat broke the vase, you're barking up the wrong tree.
- The mechanic was barking up the wrong tree with the battery; the problem was the starter.
- The detectives realized they had been barking up the wrong tree and looked for a new suspect.
Where it comes from
It comes from hunting in the United States in the early 1800s. Hunting dogs would chase a raccoon or other animal until it climbed a tree, then bark at the base so the hunters could find it. Sometimes the animal slipped away and the dogs kept barking at an empty tree. The phrase appears in American writing in the 1830s.
Check yourself
1. What does it mean if someone is barking up the wrong tree?
Answer: They have the wrong idea or target. The idiom means someone is mistaken about where to look or whom to blame.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: You're barking up the wrong tree; I wasn't even home that night.. The idiom points out a mistake, so finding the right answer does not fit.
Similar idioms
Word game fan? See every word hiding in BARKING.