See bark up the wrong tree in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for bark up the wrong tree meaning in English (6.8kB)
{
"etymology_text": "An 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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "barks up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "barking up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "barked up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "barked up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "bark up the wrong tree (third-person singular simple present barks up the wrong tree, present participle barking up the wrong tree, simple past and past participle barked up the wrong tree)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English predicates",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"parents": [
"Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
"parents": [
"Terms with redundant transliterations",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1894, Robert Barr, chapter 21, in In the Midst of Alarms",
"text": "You're not the first man who has made such a mistake, and found he was barking up the wrong tree.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1915, John Buchan, chapter 10, in The Thirty-Nine Steps",
"text": "They all went into the house, and left me feeling a precious idiot. I had been barking up the wrong tree this time.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1922, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 19, in Man Size",
"text": "\"We want West. He's a cowardly murderer—killed the man who trusted him.\" . . .\n\"Of course we may be barking up the wrong tree,\" the officer reflected aloud. \"Maybe West isn't within five hundred miles of here.\"",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2008 September 2, Ken Russell, “Let my life flash before you, in paperback”, in Times Online, UK, retrieved 2010-10-01",
"text": "After three failed marriages I realised that I may have been barking up the wrong tree and should abandon the search for the perfect wife.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To do, believe, or pursue something wrong or inappropriate; to take the wrong approach; to follow a false lead; to blame or rebuke the wrong person."
],
"id": "en-bark_up_the_wrong_tree-en-verb-8F2hwYeb",
"links": [
[
"do",
"do"
],
[
"believe",
"believe"
],
[
"pursue",
"pursue"
],
[
"wrong",
"wrong"
],
[
"inappropriate",
"inappropriate"
],
[
"approach",
"approach"
],
[
"false",
"false"
],
[
"lead",
"lead"
],
[
"blame",
"blame"
],
[
"rebuke",
"rebuke"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To do, believe, or pursue something wrong or inappropriate; to take the wrong approach; to follow a false lead; to blame or rebuke the wrong person."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "緣木求魚"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"note": "缘木求鱼 (yuánmùqiúyú, literally “to climb a tree seeking fish”)",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "plakat na špatném hrobě"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "tage fejl"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "være på vildspor"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "gå galt i byen"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "haukkua väärää puuta"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "faire fausse route"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "se mettre le doigt dans l’œil"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "miser sur le mauvais cheval"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "se tromper de cible"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "auf dem Holzweg sein"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "ta'á bak'tóvet",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "טעה בכתובת"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "tipés ál ha'éts haló nakhón",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "טיפס על העץ הלא נכון"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "prendere un granchio"
},
{
"code": "lt",
"lang": "Lithuanian",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "būti neteisiam"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "ta feil"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "bli villedet"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "skupiać się na złej sprawie"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "bater à porta errada"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "bater na porta errada"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"note": "напада́ть на ло́жный след impf (napadátʹ na lóžnyj sled, literally “to follow a false lead”)",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "napástʹ na lóžnyj sled",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "напа́сть на ло́жный след"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ne tem zanimatʹsja",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "не тем заниматься"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ne v tu stepʹ pojexatʹ",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"imperfective"
],
"word": "не в ту степь поехать"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "errar el tiro"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-bark up the wrong tree.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/ee/En-au-bark_up_the_wrong_tree.ogg/En-au-bark_up_the_wrong_tree.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/En-au-bark_up_the_wrong_tree.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "bark up the wrong tree"
}
{
"etymology_text": "An 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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "barks up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "barking up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "barked up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "barked up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "bark up the wrong tree (third-person singular simple present barks up the wrong tree, present participle barking up the wrong tree, simple past and past participle barked up the wrong tree)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"English idioms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English predicates",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"English terms with quotations",
"English verbs",
"Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1894, Robert Barr, chapter 21, in In the Midst of Alarms",
"text": "You're not the first man who has made such a mistake, and found he was barking up the wrong tree.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1915, John Buchan, chapter 10, in The Thirty-Nine Steps",
"text": "They all went into the house, and left me feeling a precious idiot. I had been barking up the wrong tree this time.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1922, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 19, in Man Size",
"text": "\"We want West. He's a cowardly murderer—killed the man who trusted him.\" . . .\n\"Of course we may be barking up the wrong tree,\" the officer reflected aloud. \"Maybe West isn't within five hundred miles of here.\"",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2008 September 2, Ken Russell, “Let my life flash before you, in paperback”, in Times Online, UK, retrieved 2010-10-01",
"text": "After three failed marriages I realised that I may have been barking up the wrong tree and should abandon the search for the perfect wife.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To do, believe, or pursue something wrong or inappropriate; to take the wrong approach; to follow a false lead; to blame or rebuke the wrong person."
],
"links": [
[
"do",
"do"
],
[
"believe",
"believe"
],
[
"pursue",
"pursue"
],
[
"wrong",
"wrong"
],
[
"inappropriate",
"inappropriate"
],
[
"approach",
"approach"
],
[
"false",
"false"
],
[
"lead",
"lead"
],
[
"blame",
"blame"
],
[
"rebuke",
"rebuke"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To do, believe, or pursue something wrong or inappropriate; to take the wrong approach; to follow a false lead; to blame or rebuke the wrong person."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-bark up the wrong tree.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/ee/En-au-bark_up_the_wrong_tree.ogg/En-au-bark_up_the_wrong_tree.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/En-au-bark_up_the_wrong_tree.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "緣木求魚"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"note": "缘木求鱼 (yuánmùqiúyú, literally “to climb a tree seeking fish”)",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "plakat na špatném hrobě"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "tage fejl"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "være på vildspor"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "gå galt i byen"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "haukkua väärää puuta"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "faire fausse route"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "se mettre le doigt dans l’œil"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "miser sur le mauvais cheval"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "se tromper de cible"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "auf dem Holzweg sein"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "ta'á bak'tóvet",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "טעה בכתובת"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "tipés ál ha'éts haló nakhón",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "טיפס על העץ הלא נכון"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "prendere un granchio"
},
{
"code": "lt",
"lang": "Lithuanian",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "būti neteisiam"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "ta feil"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "bli villedet"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "skupiać się na złej sprawie"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "bater à porta errada"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "bater na porta errada"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"note": "напада́ть на ло́жный след impf (napadátʹ na lóžnyj sled, literally “to follow a false lead”)",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "napástʹ na lóžnyj sled",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "напа́сть на ло́жный след"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ne tem zanimatʹsja",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "не тем заниматься"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ne v tu stepʹ pojexatʹ",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"imperfective"
],
"word": "не в ту степь поехать"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "bark up the wrong tree",
"word": "errar el tiro"
}
],
"word": "bark up the wrong tree"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.