If you think I broke the vase, you are barking up the wrong tree.
bark up the wrong tree
idiom B1
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.
Origin
disputed originFrom 1830s American raccoon hunting: hunting dogs would sometimes bark at the base of a tree the quarry had already left.
The police suspected the accountant, but they were barking up the wrong tree because the thief was actually the manager.
By focusing solely on budget cuts rather than structural inefficiencies, the board of directors was clearly barking up the wrong tree regarding the company's decline.
- 01
all bark and no bite
Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.
- 02
buy a dog and bark oneself
To do something that one has hired someone else to do.
- 03
Christmas tree bill
A bill consisting of many riders that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments, which may provide special benefits to various groups or interests.
- 04
dead tree edition
The physical, printed version of a publication.
- 05
do somebody wrong
To treat someone badly or unfairly.
- 06
dogs bark, cats meow
Used to introduce something seen as inevitable or totally commonplace.
- 07
fall into the wrong hands
To become the possession of, or be discovered by, an unfriendly third party.
- 08
fall out of the ugly tree and hit every branch
To become extremely unattractive.