meaning of to bark up the wrong tree
Barking up the wrong tree Barking up the wrong tree is an idiomatic expression in English, which is used to suggest a mistaken emphasis in a specific context. The phrase is an allusion to the mistake made by dogs when they believe they have chased a prey up a tree, but the game may have escaped by leaping from one tree to another.[1] The phrase means to mistake one's object, or to pursue the wrong course to obtain it.