How to Use red herring in a Sentence

red herring

noun
  • The plot of the mystery was full of red herrings.
  • The argument is a red herring. It actually has nothing to do with the issue.
  • Record highs are a red herring.
    — John Stepek, Bloomberg, 14 Jan. 2026
  • These ideas are not red herrings.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
  • This last bit proved a red herring, but the first part is true.
    — Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 11 June 2023
  • Food dyes and Tylenol are red herrings.
    — Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 8 Jan. 2026
  • That’s a red herring that will take flight later in the episode.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2025
  • This question is a red herring.
    — Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
  • Her response was a red herring.
    — Geordie McClelland, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Most were red herrings in case scripts got leaked, or call sheets were made public.
    — Hunter Ingram, Variety, 15 May 2026
  • The title of the record is somewhat of a red herring.
    — Ilana Kaplan, PEOPLE, 8 June 2026
  • But at least a red herring is being dispatched back to the deep.
    — Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 12 Feb. 2019
  • Later clues are often used as red herrings to throw the judges off.
    — Ariana Brockington, refinery29.com, 12 Feb. 2020
  • There will also be red herrings to throw players off the case.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Ives isn’t alone in viewing the software slump as a red herring.
    — Tristan Bove, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2026
  • But there are compelling reasons to think that line could be a red herring.
    — Eliana Dockterman, Time, 14 Oct. 2022
  • Well, that turned out to be another red herring.
    — James Marcus, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
  • With countless red herrings and brain-teasing clues, we were gripped from the start.
    — Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2023
  • Yet renewable gas appears to be a red herring at this point in time.
    — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2019
  • That debate about the anthem and the flag is the reddest of red herrings.
    — USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2018
  • Or is that just a red herring that will be edited out in post-production?
    — Paul Edward Parker, The Providence Journal, 10 Feb. 2026
  • The same can be said of her pictures, where specificity is a bit of a red herring.
    — Mark Holgate, Vogue, 16 Feb. 2024
  • With that initial red herring out of the way, the yellows became clear.
    — Kris Holt, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Is that creepy stalker staring from across the courtyard a red herring?
    — Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 2 Feb. 2022
  • Venezuela, for the record, is a red herring in this specific debate.
    — María Mendiluce, Forbes.com, 19 Jan. 2026
  • The recent eighth season stayed true to the show’s knack for red herrings and smart humor.
    — Andrea Duncan-Mao, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025
  • The red herring is a distraction.
    — NBC news, 5 Oct. 2025
  • The cost of the promising new weight-loss drugs is perhaps something of a red herring on her part.
    — Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 23 June 2023
  • Then again, the emotions of its subject may be something of a red herring when all is said and done.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2024
  • You guys are experts at red herrings and distractions.
    — Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 11 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'red herring.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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