bark up the wrong tree
To take the wrong approach to a situationTo take the wrong approach to a situation; to follow a false lead; to attempt to solve a problem using mistaken assumptions about its true nature.
» You're barking up the wrong tree.
Du bist auf dem Holzweg. — al_ex_an_der
Ты лаешь не на то дерево. — Ooneykcall
Ты попал пальцем в небо. — sharptoothed
Ты не туда смотришь. — marafon
Ты идёшь по ложному следу. — Ooneykcall
Ты не по адресу. — Ooneykcall
Ты не того обвиняешь. — Ooneykcall
Ты не к тому обратился. — Ooneykcall
Ты не о том говоришь. — Ooneykcall
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(idiomatic)To take the wrong approach to a situation; to follow a false lead; to attempt to solve a problem using mistaken assumptions about its true nature.
The investigator spent days trying to prove the butler committed the murder, but it turns out he was barking up the wrong tree.
auf dem Holzweg sein
напа́сть на ло́жный следnapástʹ na lóžnyj sled, не тем заниматьсяne tem zanimatʹsja, не в ту степь поехатьne v tu stepʹ pojexatʹ
Examples
33 sentencesYou're barking up the wrong tree.
ruТы лаешь не на то дерево. — Ooneykcall
deDu bist auf dem Holzweg. — al_ex_an_der
Bears often scratch their backs on the bark of trees.
ruМедведи имеют обыкновение чесать спину о кору деревьев. — sharptoothed
I think Tom has been barking up the wrong tree.
I think that Tom has been barking up the wrong tree.
Don't pick the bark off trees.
ruНе сдирай кору с деревьев. — marafon
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
An allusion to a situation in which a hunting dog misidentifies the tree up which it has cAn allusion to a situation in which a hunting dog misidentifies the tree up which it has chased an animal and positions itself at the base of another tree, barking upward at the branches.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
barks up the wrong tree, barking up the wrong tree, barked up the wrong tree, barked up the wrong tree| Base form | bark up the wrong tree · to bark up the wrong tree |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | barks up the wrong tree |
| Present participle | barking up the wrong tree |
| Past simple | barked up the wrong tree |
| Past participle | barked up the wrong tree |
irregular
Present simpleLesson
| I, you, we, they | bark up the wrong tree |
| he, she, it | barks up the wrong tree |
Past simpleLesson
| all persons | barked up the wrong tree |
Present perfectLesson
| I, you, we, they | have barked up the wrong tree |
| he, she, it | has barked up the wrong tree |
Future simple (will)Lesson
| all persons | will bark up the wrong tree |
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.