From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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-	{{Template}}In [[literature]], a '''red herring''' is a [[plot device]] intended to distract the reader from a more important event in the plot, usually a [[twist ending]].	+	#redirect[[Red herring]]
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-	The term "red herring" originates from the tradition whereby young hunting dogs in Britain were trained to follow a scent with the use of a "red" (salted and smoked) herring (see [[kipper]]). This pungent fish would be dragged across a trail until the puppy learned to follow the scent. Later, when the dog was being trained to follow the faint odor of a fox or a badger, the trainer would drag a red herring (which has a much stronger odor) across the animal's trail at right angles. The dog would eventually learn to follow the original scent rather than the stronger scent.	+
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-	In literature, the most commonplace use of a "red herring" is in [[mystery fiction]]. One particular character is described or emphasized in a way that seems to throw suspicion upon that character as the person who committed the crime: later, it develops that someone else is the guilty party.	+
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1. redirectRed herring