red herring

red herring
red her·ring /ˌred-'her-iŋ/ n [red herring something that distracts attention from the main issue, diversion]: a preliminary prospectus (as for the sale of securities) that is not yet approved by the appropriate body (as the Securities and Exchange Commission)

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

red herring
n.
(1) A misleading clue; a point in a case that might seem important but that is in fact irrelevant to the main issue.
(2) In securities, a preliminary prospectus about a future stock issue not yet approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, so-called because it is bordered in red to alert investors that it is not yet approved.

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.


red herring
A legal or factual issue that is irrelevant and is used to divert attention away from the main issues of a case. (The term is derived from the practice of training hunting dogs by dragging cured herrings across the scent trail of a fox.)
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.

Red Herring
Red Herring, also known as preliminary prospectus
The preliminary prospectus is essentially Part I of the registration statement and may omit certain information relating to the offering (such as the final offering price).
Also known as the "Red Herring" because of the red ink used on the front page, which indicates that some information, including the price and size of the offering, is subject to change.

Practical Law Dictionary. Glossary of UK, US and international legal terms. . 2010.


red herring
n. A topic that may or may not have general significance, factual or legal, but that is of absolutely no relevance to the question or matter at hand.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary. . 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Red Herring — Pays  États Unis Langue Anglais Périodic …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Red herring — may refer to: * Red herring (narrative), a technique used in literature to mislead the audience * Kipper, a fish having been dried, smoked, and salted * Red Herring (magazine), a magazine focused on the new technology businesses * The Red Herring …   Wikipedia

  • red herring — n. 1) A smoked herring having a reddish color. 2) Something that draws attention away from the matter being discussed or dealt with. ╂ [Sense 2, probably from the use of smoked herrings to lay scent trails for hounds to follow.] Word History: A… …   Word Histories

  • Red herring — Red Red, a. [Compar. {Redder} ( d?r); superl. {Reddest}.] [OE. red, reed, AS. re[ a]d, re[ o]d; akin to OS. r[=o]d, OFries. r[=a]d, D. rood, G. roht, rot, OHG. r[=o]t, Dan. & Sw. r[ o]d, Icel. rau[eth]r, rj[=o][eth]r, Goth. r[ a]uds, W. rhudd,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Red Herring — bezeichnet: Red Herring (Redewendung), eine englische idiomatische Redewendung (dt. „Roter Hering“) Red Herring (Wirtschaft), einen vorläufigen Wertpapier Emissionsprospekt Red Herring (Magazin), ein internationales Business Magazin Marxistisch… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • red herring — smoked herring early 15c. (they turn red when cured), as opposed to white herring fresh herring. Supposedly used by fugitives to put bloodhounds off their scent (1680s), hence metaphoric sense (1864) of something used to divert attention from the …   Etymology dictionary

  • red herring — ► NOUN 1) a dried smoked herring. 2) a misleading clue or distraction. [ORIGIN: so named from the practice of using the scent of red herring in training hounds.] …   English terms dictionary

  • red herring — n. 1. a smoked herring 2. something used to divert attention from the basic issue: from the practice of drawing a herring across the trace in hunting, to distract the hounds 3. Finance [Informal] Finance Informal a preliminary prospectus, subject …   English World dictionary

  • red herring — red herrings N COUNT If you say that something is a red herring, you mean that it is not important and it takes your attention away from the main subject or problem you are considering. As Dr Smith left he said that the inquiry was something of a …   English dictionary

  • red herring — If something is a distraction from the real issues, it is a red herring …   The small dictionary of idiomes

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