'red herring' definitions:

Definition of 'red herring'

From: WordNet
noun
Any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue
noun
A dried and smoked herring having a reddish color [syn: red herring, smoked herring]
noun
A first draft of a prospectus; must be clearly marked to indicate that parts may be changed in the final prospectus; "because some portions of the cover page are printed in red ink a preliminary prospectus is sometimes called a red herring" [syn: preliminary prospectus, red herring]

Synonyms of 'red herring'

From: Moby Thesaurus