bark up the wrong tree

simple

“If you think I broke the vase, you are barking up the wrong tree.”

“You are barking up the wrong tree if you think I have the keys.”

“He barks up the wrong tree by blaming his diet for his constant tiredness.”

contextual

“The police suspected the accountant, but they were barking up the wrong tree because the thief was actually the manager.”

“If you are trying to fix the internet by restarting your computer, you are barking up the wrong tree because the router is actually broken.”

“The marketing team is barking up the wrong tree by targeting teenagers when most of our loyal customers are actually retirees.”

“She realized she was barking up the wrong tree after spending hours searching the kitchen for her phone, only to find it in the car.”

complex

“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.”