1. (

• red_herring

) any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue ;

2. (

• red_herring ,
• smoked_herring

) a dried and smoked herring having a reddish color ;

3. (

• preliminary_prospectus ,
• red_herring

) 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" ;