Meaning: Following a dead end path; Being totally wrong about something you believed to be true.
When using dogs in a foxhunt, the dogs would sometimes corner the fox in a tree and then proceed to bark up at the fox. Barking up the wrong tree, where there is no fox, is a pointless exercise.
‘I know you think I stole your umbrella. But really, I don't have it. You are barking up the wrong tree’
Tell us about a time when you had the wrong idea about something and you were barking up the wrong tree. Add your comments below!
