wrong scent, on the

wrong scent, on the idiom
On a false trail or track, as in He managed to put the police on the wrong scent and got away. This term alludes to hunting with hounds. [c. 1600]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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