bark up the wrong tree

Idioms  

1. Waste one's efforts by pursuing the wrong thing or path, as in If you think I can come up with more money, you're barking up the wrong tree. This term comes from the nocturnal pursuit of raccoon-hunting with the aid of dogs. Occasionally a raccoon fools the dogs, which crowd around a tree, barking loudly, not realizing their quarry has taken a different route. [Early 1800s]

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Example Sentences

We root for the underdog, we bark up the wrong tree and then we’re in the doghouse.

From The Guardian

The information disparity between the two characters has been a driving source of intrigue, allowing the audience to crave Hannah’s leads while smugly watching Kirkman bark up the wrong tree.

From New York Times

You lose your head and you bark up the wrong tree.

From Project Gutenberg

It would have been nearer the truth to say that he had hardly closed his eyes since the night of Cynthia Farrow's death, but he knew that if he said that Sangster would at once bark up the wrong tree, and conclude that he was fretting for her—breaking his heart for her, whereas he was doing nothing of the kind.

From Project Gutenberg

The terms "innocent," "acknowledge the corn," "bark up the wrong tree," "great snakes," "I reckon," "playing 'possum," "dead shot," had their origin in the Southern States.

From Project Gutenberg