Endangered Red Herring May Become Extinct

red herring

noun
1. any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue
2. a dried and smoked herring having a reddish color
3. a first draft of a prospectus; must be clearly marked to indicate that parts may be changed in the final prospectus; "because some portions of the cover page are printed in red ink a preliminary prospectus is sometimes called a red herring" [syn: preliminary prospectus]