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| {{Wiktionary|Barking up the wrong tree}} | {{Wiktionary|Barking up the wrong tree}} | ||
| {{Wiktionary|Bark up the wrong tree}} | {{Wiktionary|Bark up the wrong tree}} | ||
| '''Barking up the wrong tree''' is an ] idiomatic expression which is used to suggest a mistaken emphasis in a specific context. | '''Barking up the wrong tree''' is an ] idiomatic expression which is used to suggest a mistaken emphasis in a specific context. The phrase is a allusion to the mistake made by dogs when they believe that have chased a prey up a tree, but the game may have escaped by leaping from one tree to another.<ref>Walsh, William Shepard. (1909). </ref> The phrase means to mistake one's object, or to pursue the wrong course to obtain it. | ||
| In other words, "if you are barking up the wrong tree, it means that you have completely misunderstood something or are totally wrong."<ref></ref> | In other words, "if you are barking up the wrong tree, it means that you have completely misunderstood something or are totally wrong."<ref></ref> | ||
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| * ___________. (1886). ''Barking up the wrong Tree; a Darkey Sketch in One Act and One Scene.'' New York: Dick & Fitzgerald. | * ___________. (1886). ''Barking up the wrong Tree; a Darkey Sketch in One Act and One Scene.'' New York: Dick & Fitzgerald. | ||
| * Boye DeMente, Lafayette. (2007). ''Cheater's Guide to Speaking English Like a Native,'' Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing. 13-ISBN 978-0-804-83682-1/10-ISBN 0-804-83682-5; | * Boye DeMente, Lafayette. (2007). ''Cheater's Guide to Speaking English Like a Native,'' Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing. 13-ISBN 978-0-804-83682-1/10-ISBN 0-804-83682-5; | ||
| * |
* Conald, James. (1872). ''Chambers's English Dictionary: Pronouncing, Explanatory, and Etymological with vocabularies of Scottish words and phrases, Americanisms, &c.'' London : W. & R. Chambers. | ||
| * Thornton, Richard H. and Louise Hanley. (1912). ''An American glossary.'' Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott. | |||
| * Walsh, William Shepard. (1909). ''Handy-book of Literary Curiosities.'' Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott. | |||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 01:24, 18 November 2009
Barking up the wrong tree is an American idiomatic expression which is used to suggest a mistaken emphasis in a specific context. The phrase is a allusion to the mistake made by dogs when they believe that have chased a prey up a tree, but the game may have escaped by leaping from one tree to another. The phrase means to mistake one's object, or to pursue the wrong course to obtain it.
In other words, "if you are barking up the wrong tree, it means that you have completely misunderstood something or are totally wrong."
Historical usage
- 1833 – "It doesn't take a Philadelphia lawyer to tell that the man who serves the master one day, and the enemy six, has just six chances out of seven to go to the devil. You are barking up the wrong tree, Johnson." -- James Hall, Legends of the West, p. 46.
- 1833 – "I told him that he reminded me of the meanest thing on God's earth, an old coon dog barking up the wrong tree." -- Sketches of David Crockett," p. 58. (New York).
- 1834 – " to use a Western phrase, barked up the wrong tree when they go hold of Tom Smith." -- Albert Pike, Sketches &c. p. 34 (Boston)
- 1836 – "You've been barking up the wrong tree, cried the Ohioan." -- Knickerbocker Magazine, p. vii. 15 January 1936.
- 1838 – "Instead of having treed their game, gentlemen will find themselves still barking up the wrong tree." -- Mr. Duncan of Ohio in the House of Representatives, July 7: Congressional Globe, p. 474, Appendix.
- 1839 – "The same reckless indifferenece which causes a puppy to bark up the wrong tree. -- Chemung (NY) Democrat, September 18. 1839.
Notes
- Walsh, William Shepard. (1909). Handy-book of literary curiosities, p. 80.
- Use English
- ^ Thornton, Richard H. and Louise Hanley. (1912). An American glossary, p. 43.
References
- ___________. (1886). Barking up the wrong Tree; a Darkey Sketch in One Act and One Scene. New York: Dick & Fitzgerald. OCLC 20640219
- Boye DeMente, Lafayette. (2007). Cheater's Guide to Speaking English Like a Native, Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing. 13-ISBN 978-0-804-83682-1/10-ISBN 0-804-83682-5; OCLC 148660284
- Conald, James. (1872). Chambers's English Dictionary: Pronouncing, Explanatory, and Etymological with vocabularies of Scottish words and phrases, Americanisms, &c. London : W. & R. Chambers. OCLC 37826777
- Thornton, Richard H. and Louise Hanley. (1912). An American glossary. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott. OCLC 318970
- Walsh, William Shepard. (1909). Handy-book of Literary Curiosities. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott. OCLC 1032882