--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When these early settlers hunted, they…" description: "\"“When these early settlers hunted, they would leave red herring along their trail because the strong smell would confuse wolves, which is the origin of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/mark-kurlansky-1988_red-herring_when-these-early-settlers-hunted-they-wo_1648753.png" --- # When these early settlers hunted, they would leave red… ![“When these early settlers hunted, they would leave red herring along their trail because the strong smell would confuse wolves, which is the origin of the expression red herring, meaning “a false trail.” quote by Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/mark-kurlansky-1988_red-herring_when-these-early-settlers-hunted-they-wo_1648753.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/mark-kurlansky-1988_red-herring_when-these-early-settlers-hunted-they-wo_1648753.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/mark-kurlansky-1988_red-herring_when-these-early-settlers-hunted-they-wo_1648753.png) > ““When these early settlers hunted, they would leave red herring along their trail because the strong smell would confuse wolves, which is the origin of the expression red herring, meaning “a false trail.”” [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early hunters used strong-smelling fish to mislead wolves, creating the phrase “red herring” for a deceptive clue. **In simple terms:** Hunters used fish to confuse wolves, coining “red herring.” Key Takeaway Beware deceptive distractions. Themes deception language history Mood cautious inquisitive Type aphilosophical analytical When to use this quote - hunting - storytelling - critical thinking Key Concepts Folklore semantics misdirection Questions to Reflect On - How do you spot false leads? - What modern “red herrings” mislead you? A Different Perspective The metaphor may not apply to modern digital misinformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Dinah drew her sword, and with that, the former Princess of Wonderland and her black devil steed disappeared into the Twisted Wood, leaving nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-oakes/dinah-drew-her-sword-and-with-that-the-former-princess-of-wonderland/) Colleen Oakes > [“Yes sir, the fish was left in place of the crystal ball. It's been bagged and tagged for analysis.” Great. Now we have another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-f-stewart/yes-sir-the-fish-was-left-in-place-of-the-crystal-ball-it-s-been/) [A.F. Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-f-stewart/) > [I'm kind of like a combination of a red herring and a fake-out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-englund/i-m-kind-of-like-a-combination-of-a-red-herring-and-a-fake-out/) [Robert Englund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-englund/) > [“Foreshadow, plot buster or red herring... only time will tell: P69 -- Cassie waited; in the evening light through the window her eyes looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/foreshadow-plot-buster-or-red-herring-only-time-will-tell-p69-cassie/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [Neither fish, flesh nor good red herring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/neither-fish-flesh-nor-good-red-herring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There is a phrase "neither flesh nor fowl nor good red herring." This thing was all of them, plus some other bits of beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-is-a-phrase-neither-flesh-nor-fowl-nor-good-red-herring-this/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [She is nether fish nor flesh, nor good red herring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/she-is-nether-fish-nor-flesh-nor-good-red-herring/) [John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/) > [Any great movie in the old days has a red herring. Hitchcock was so good at that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-knepper/any-great-movie-in-the-old-days-has-a-red-herring-hitchcock-was-so/) [Robert Knepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-knepper/) > [“The spectacular incident of the stones serves as a kind of red herring in this respect. Many researchers have adopted the erroneous belief that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-spectacular-incident-of-the-stones-serves-as-a-kind-of-red/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Writing and directing might be a red herring, and really I'm just re-examining what it is to act, to do it well and do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-lewis/writing-and-directing-might-be-a-red-herring-and-really-i-m-just-re/) [Damian Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-lewis/) > [I knew with The West Wing that that wasn't going to be for very long, that I was just the red herring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-devane/i-knew-with-the-west-wing-that-that-wasn-t-going-to-be-for-very-long/) [William Devane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-devane/) > [Gay marriage is a complete red herring to distract everyone from the economy and the war and health care and education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-russell/gay-marriage-is-a-complete-red-herring-to-distract-everyone-from-the/) [David O. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-russell/) > [“I think I’m falling for a red herring here,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/i-think-i-m-falling-for-a-red-herring-here/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [Damn'd neuters, in their middle way of steering, Are neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red herring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/damn-d-neuters-in-their-middle-way-of-steering-are-neither-fish-nor/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [When you see Robert Englund in a movie, you think he is the bad guy, but if I'm not the bad guy, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-englund/when-you-see-robert-englund-in-a-movie-you-think-he-is-the-bad-guy/) [Robert Englund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-englund/) ## More by Mark Kurlansky > [“A 1670 revision of the criminal code found yet another use for salt in France. To enforce the law against suicide, it was ordered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/a-1670-revision-of-the-criminal-code-found-yet-another-use-for-salt/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [“The Romans, Jones pointed out, called a man in love salax, in a salted state, which is the origin of the word salacious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/the-romans-jones-pointed-out-called-a-man-in-love-salax-in-a-salted/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [When you're in theater, you inevitably wind up working in restaurants. I made pastry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/when-you-re-in-theater-you-inevitably-wind-up-working-in-restaurants/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [“For a time, the Hanseatics were well appreciated as honorable merchants who ensured quality and fought against unscrupulous practices. They were known as Easterlings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/for-a-time-the-hanseatics-were-well-appreciated-as-honorable/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [I blurbed a nice book, not at all like my book 'The Big Oyster,' called 'The Essential Oyster.' I blurbed a pretty good book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/i-blurbed-a-nice-book-not-at-all-like-my-book-the-big-oyster-called/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [The entire trendy foodie world - food writing, food television, celebrated restaurants - is all about food for the rich. But the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/the-entire-trendy-foodie-world-food-writing-food-television/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [One of the truly horrible things about the Holocaust is that it doesn't end in 1945. It keeps affecting our lives in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/one-of-the-truly-horrible-things-about-the-holocaust-is-that-it-doesn/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [It's true that writing and pastry-making are similar, but when you work as a pastry chef, you can get a kind of mania that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/it-s-true-that-writing-and-pastry-making-are-similar-but-when-you/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [Food is interesting to me because it's a way of understanding culture and societies and history. I would never write about food just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/food-is-interesting-to-me-because-it-s-a-way-of-understanding-culture/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [THE ROMANS SALTED their greens, believing this to counteract the natural bitterness, which is the origin of the word salad, salted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/the-romans-salted-their-greens-believing-this-to-counteract-the/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [Religion is a big problem in Israel and the Arab world, but again, the problem isn't religion but political leaders who want to use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/religion-is-a-big-problem-in-israel-and-the-arab-world-but-again-the/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [“It is a peculiarity of the English language that while most fish swim in schools, herring swim in shoals, a word of the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/it-is-a-peculiarity-of-the-english-language-that-while-most-fish-swim/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [“The painstakingly extracted purple dye was a luxury item of such prestige that the color purple became a way of showing wealth and power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/the-painstakingly-extracted-purple-dye-was-a-luxury-item-of-such/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [Don't forget the Vietnam War was brought to us by Democrats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/don-t-forget-the-vietnam-war-was-brought-to-us-by-democrats/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [So much of what I write in fiction is based on true stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/so-much-of-what-i-write-in-fiction-is-based-on-true-stories/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) [Explore all 193 Mark Kurlansky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) ## More Red Herring quotes > [“Yes sir, the fish was left in place of the crystal ball. It's been bagged and tagged for analysis.” Great. Now we have another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-f-stewart/yes-sir-the-fish-was-left-in-place-of-the-crystal-ball-it-s-been/) [A.F. Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-f-stewart/) > [Damn'd neuters, in their middle way of steering, Are neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red herring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/damn-d-neuters-in-their-middle-way-of-steering-are-neither-fish-nor/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [“I think I’m falling for a red herring here,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/i-think-i-m-falling-for-a-red-herring-here/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [Gay marriage is a complete red herring to distract everyone from the economy and the war and health care and education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-russell/gay-marriage-is-a-complete-red-herring-to-distract-everyone-from-the/) [David O. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-russell/) > [I knew with The West Wing that that wasn't going to be for very long, that I was just the red herring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-devane/i-knew-with-the-west-wing-that-that-wasn-t-going-to-be-for-very-long/) [William Devane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-devane/) > [Writing and directing might be a red herring, and really I'm just re-examining what it is to act, to do it well and do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-lewis/writing-and-directing-might-be-a-red-herring-and-really-i-m-just-re/) [Damian Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-lewis/) > [“The spectacular incident of the stones serves as a kind of red herring in this respect. Many researchers have adopted the erroneous belief that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-spectacular-incident-of-the-stones-serves-as-a-kind-of-red/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Any great movie in the old days has a red herring. Hitchcock was so good at that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-knepper/any-great-movie-in-the-old-days-has-a-red-herring-hitchcock-was-so/) [Robert Knepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-knepper/) > [She is nether fish nor flesh, nor good red herring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/she-is-nether-fish-nor-flesh-nor-good-red-herring/) [John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/) > [“There is a phrase "neither flesh nor fowl nor good red herring." This thing was all of them, plus some other bits of beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-is-a-phrase-neither-flesh-nor-fowl-nor-good-red-herring-this/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Neither fish, flesh nor good red herring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/neither-fish-flesh-nor-good-red-herring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Foreshadow, plot buster or red herring... only time will tell: P69 -- Cassie waited; in the evening light through the window her eyes looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/foreshadow-plot-buster-or-red-herring-only-time-will-tell-p69-cassie/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [I'm kind of like a combination of a red herring and a fake-out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-englund/i-m-kind-of-like-a-combination-of-a-red-herring-and-a-fake-out/) [Robert Englund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-englund/) > [When you see Robert Englund in a movie, you think he is the bad guy, but if I'm not the bad guy, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-englund/when-you-see-robert-englund-in-a-movie-you-think-he-is-the-bad-guy/) [Robert Englund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-englund/) Browse all 15 Red Herring quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When these early settlers hunted, they would leave red herring along their trail because the strong smell would confuse wolves, which is the origin of the expression red herring, meaning “a false trail.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Kurlansky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/when-these-early-settlers-hunted-they-would-leave-red-herring-along/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Red Herring" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/when-these-early-settlers-hunted-they-would-leave-red-herring-along/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/mark-kurlansky-1988_red-herring_when-these-early-settlers-hunted-they-wo_1648753.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/mark-kurlansky-1988_red-herring_when-these-early-settlers-hunted-they-wo_1648753.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/mark-kurlansky-1988_red-herring_when-these-early-settlers-hunted-they-wo_1648753.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When these early settlers hunted, they would leave red herring along their trail because the strong smell…” — Mark Kurlansky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Kurlansky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When these early settlers hunted, they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/when-these-early-settlers-hunted-they-would-leave-red-herring-along/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/when-these-early-settlers-hunted-they-would-leave-red-herring-along/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```