be on the wrong scent

To be following a false lead; to be chasing after the wrong person or thing. With this new clue, it's becoming clear that we've been on the wrong scent for months. Reporters always seem to be on the wrong scent, thanks to the politician's skill in diverting criticism and negative attention away from himself. Quit worrying, the police think Frankie did it. They're on the wrong scent and won't figure it out until we're miles and miles away!

wrong scent, to be on the

To follow a false trail or track. This term, which comes from hunting with hounds, was already being used figuratively in Shakespeare’s time. Laurence Sterne used it in Tristram Shandy (1705): “Tristram found he was up on a wrong scent.”