1
general::
Phrase(s): bark up the wrong tree
Fig. to make the wrong choice; to ask the wrong person; to follow the wrong course. (Alludes to a dog in pursuit of an animal, where the animal is in one tree and the dog is barking at another tree.) • If you think I’m the guilty person, you’re barking up the wrong tree. • The hitters blamed the team’s bad record on the pitchers, but they were barking up the wrong tree.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Waste one's efforts by pursuing the wrong thing or path, as in If you think I can come up with more money, you're barking up the wrong tree. This term comes from the nocturnal pursuit of raccoon-hunting with the aid of dogs. Occasionally a raccoon fools the dogs, which crowd around a tree, barking loudly, not realizing their quarry has taken a different route. [Early 1800s]
American Heritage Idioms