仕事で株の売買に関する英文を読む必要があったので付け焼刃ですが「金融英語の意味と読み方」（発行日興企画）を読み始めました。 公募と私募の項に A preliminary, or a “red herring,” prospectus is one that has been prepared for use by the underwriter to solicit interest from select investors in the public offering. の文章があり、“red herring” の字義は「燻製にしん」という意味だが、仮目論見書の表紙が赤字で印刷されていることからこのように呼ばれると解説がありました。
こんな専門用語の意味はしりませんでしたが、“red herring” は人の注意をそらすこと（もの）の意味でよく使われる表現なのでよく見かけます。 燻製の鰊の意味もあるようですがこの意味で書かれたものを読んだことはありません。
以下が英々辞書にある定義、説明です。
? noun: any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue
? noun: a dried and smoked herring having a reddish color
A Red Herring is a fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue.
Ask Yahoo! に "red herring" の由来について詳しい記事がありました。
Why is a deliberately misleading object called a "red herring"?
According to the site, British fugitives in the 1800s would rub a herring across their trail, thereby diverting the bloodhounds that were hot in pursuit. In the 1920s, American investment bankers started calling preliminary prospectuses "red herrings" as a warning to investors that the documents were not complete or final and could be misleading. （これは前述の本にあった仮目論見書の由来と違う説ですね。）
We liked the explanation, but wondered if there was more to the story. We spent some time searching and uncovered an alternate explanation, centered on hunting. The Word Detective explains that the curing process turns the fish a red color and lends it a distinctive smell. The fish was tied to a string and dragged through the woods to teach hunting dogs to follow a trail. Later, red herrings may also have been used to confuse the hounds in order to prolong a foxhunt or to test their ability to stay with a scent.
Another handy etymology source, Wilton's Word and Phrase Origins offers a similar explanation, but attributes the use of the herring to poachers, who used the scent to throw the dogs off the trail of game so they could claim the prize for themselves.
It seems that whether the prey was a fugitive or a fox, this pungent fish did the trick and distracted the dogs.
誰にでも、ごまかしたかったり、触れられたくないことやら都合の悪いことがあるのは東西何処も同じ様なので、この “red herring” の言葉にはまた必ず出会うでしょう。
こんな専門用語の意味はしりませんでしたが、“red herring” は人の注意をそらすこと（もの）の意味でよく使われる表現なのでよく見かけます。 燻製の鰊の意味もあるようですがこの意味で書かれたものを読んだことはありません。
以下が英々辞書にある定義、説明です。
? noun: any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue
? noun: a dried and smoked herring having a reddish color
A Red Herring is a fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue.
Ask Yahoo! に "red herring" の由来について詳しい記事がありました。
Why is a deliberately misleading object called a "red herring"?
According to the site, British fugitives in the 1800s would rub a herring across their trail, thereby diverting the bloodhounds that were hot in pursuit. In the 1920s, American investment bankers started calling preliminary prospectuses "red herrings" as a warning to investors that the documents were not complete or final and could be misleading. （これは前述の本にあった仮目論見書の由来と違う説ですね。）
We liked the explanation, but wondered if there was more to the story. We spent some time searching and uncovered an alternate explanation, centered on hunting. The Word Detective explains that the curing process turns the fish a red color and lends it a distinctive smell. The fish was tied to a string and dragged through the woods to teach hunting dogs to follow a trail. Later, red herrings may also have been used to confuse the hounds in order to prolong a foxhunt or to test their ability to stay with a scent.
Another handy etymology source, Wilton's Word and Phrase Origins offers a similar explanation, but attributes the use of the herring to poachers, who used the scent to throw the dogs off the trail of game so they could claim the prize for themselves.
It seems that whether the prey was a fugitive or a fox, this pungent fish did the trick and distracted the dogs.
誰にでも、ごまかしたかったり、触れられたくないことやら都合の悪いことがあるのは東西何処も同じ様なので、この “red herring” の言葉にはまた必ず出会うでしょう。
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