While there is no such species of fish as a “red herring,” many believe the idiom, meaning a false clue deliberately placed to mislead, originated in the early 1800s when Englishman Robert Cobbett used a story from his youth to chide the press for prematurely reporting Napoleon’s defeat to distract the public from important political issues. Cobbett’s tale described dragging pungent fish across the path of hounds to divert them when hunting a hare. Herrings are silvery in color and turn reddish brown when smoked.
Literary examples of red herrings point back to the works of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but I could not find a reference to the first use of red herrings in a mystery story. If anyone knows which mystery author was the first to use red herrings, please clue me in.
Lori Lee Palmer says:
Hi Don –
Thanks for giving the history of the term ‘red herring.’ I now feel well-informed.
Lori
Donald Jay says:
Thanks, Lori. We missed you at Writer’s Group.