The phrase “barking up the wrong tree” comes from using trained dogs to hunt game. It means pursuing an idea based on faulty logic or understanding, and was first used in print in 1832 by American author James Kirk Paulding.
The phrase “barking up the wrong tree” appears to be an expression of American origin, although the exact first usage is somewhat debated. As a general expression, or sentiment, it certainly derives from the tradition of using trained dogs to hunt game, such as rabbits, foxes, or squirrels. A dog barking up the wrong tree would be one who believes play is somewhere it isn’t; likewise, a person who does this would be incorrect in some assumption or action that he is doing. The first use of the phrase in print appears to be in 1832 in James Kirk Paulding’s novel Westward Ho!.
Broadly speaking, the phrase “barking up the wrong tree” essentially serves as a metaphor for a person acting on an incorrect assumption, based on the actions of hounds. The dogs were often trained to track and follow various types of game, such as rabbits and squirrels. These dogs typically lead an animal to or up a tree, at which point the dog stands at the base of the tree and barks to indicate which tree the hunters might find the animal. If the animal jumped up another tree, but the dog stayed, then it would literally be barking up the wrong tree.
This idea was then extended metaphorically to describe a person who was “barking up the wrong tree” by pursuing an idea based on faulty logic or understanding. A person who seeks corruption in a government agency, where there is none, would be labeled “barking up the wrong tree”. The term can also be applied to a number of different settings, such as someone who is flirting with an uninterested person, someone applying to a company that isn’t hiring, or someone looking for misinformation.
The earliest use of “barking up the wrong tree” in print appears to be an 1832 novel called Westward Ho! by American author James Kirk Paulding. Whether the phrase was already in popular usage prior to this is difficult to establish, but it seemed to become very popular in print afterwards. Numerous texts, including books, magazine articles, and even transcripts from the United States House of Representatives, show the phrase being used in the years immediately following Paulding’s novel. It is probable that “barking up the wrong tree” was already a phrase in general or colloquial use before Paulding’s use, but use in a work of literature served to increase its popularity.
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