red herring

英 [ˌred ˈherɪŋ]

美 [ˌred ˈherɪŋ]

n.  转移注意力的次要事实(或想法、事件等)

牛津词典

noun

• 转移注意力的次要事实（或想法、事件等）
  an unimportant fact, idea, event, etc. that takes people's attention away from the important ones

柯林斯词典

• N-COUNT 遮眼法；转移注意力之物
  If you say that something is ared herring, you mean that it is not important and it takes your attention away from the main subject or problem you are considering.
  1. As Dr Smith left he said that the inquiry was something of a red herring.
     史密斯博士离开时说这次调查只是为掩人耳目。

英英释义

noun

• any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue
• a first draft of a prospectus
  1. because some portions of the cover page are printed in red ink a preliminary prospectus is sometimes called a red herring
  Synonym:preliminary prospectus
• a dried and smoked herring having a reddish color
  Synonym:smoked herring

双语例句

• Such regeneration will, of course, do nothing to help Cornwall or Belfast, but that is a red herring.
  当然，这种复兴不会给康沃尔（cornwall）或贝尔法斯特（belfast）带来任何帮助，但它可以转移公众的注意力。
• Some people have written RDF processing tools that manipulate the XML syntax directly using XQuery, but I consider this a bit of a red herring for general-purpose RDF processing.
  已经有人编写了直接使用XQuery操作XML语法的RDF处理工具，但我认为对于通用的RDF处理，这多少有点多此一举。
• This place is not a bungalow, or a cottage, or a house, it is neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring.
  这所住宅既不是农舍，更不是楼房，真是四不像。
• On such a red-letter day, we find our finance has been in the red because of the official's red tape, but when we try to figure out the details, the official promises a bonus as a red herring.
  在这样一个重要的日子里，我们却发现由于政府人员的官僚主义和繁文缛节，我们的财政已陷入赤字。当我们试图进一步弄清状况时，政府却答应给我们奖金来转移话题。
• This church has a Norman tower and a Gothic facade; it's neither fish flesh nor good red herring.
  这座教堂既有诺曼式的塔，又有哥特式的门面，不伦不类。
• For the case of Switzerland, it finds this contribution to be relatively small regardless of whether or not the cost of dying is accounted for, thus qualifying the "red herring" hypothesis.
  从瑞士的例子来看，无论是否考虑濒临死亡成本，这种影响都相对较小，因而符合不相干事实假说。
• His critics say his emphasis on the past 10 years is a red herring.
  批评他的人表示，他对过去十年的强调是在混淆视听。
• I like to imagine a world in which "neither fish, flesh nor good red herring" was irritatingly common.
  我想象这个到处洋溢着“非鱼，非肉，也不是标致的红鲱鱼”的世界一定很刺激。
• What Americans ought to care most about is maintaining our growth, not the red herring of gaps in income and wealth.
  美国民众最该关心的应是保持经济的增长，而不是将注意力转移到收入与财富的差距上。
• Inflation numbers, due out on Thursday, look like a red herring.
  定于本周四发布的通胀数据，看上去就像是一个转移注意力的话题。