The Only Use of
red herring
in
The Catbird Seat, by James Thurber
- It was his idea to puff a few puffs on a Camel (after the rubbing-out), stub it out in the ashtray holding her lipstick-stained Luckies, and thus drag a small red herring across the trail.†
red herring = a diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue