![\"Barking](\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/blog\/wrongtree.gif\")
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The phrase barking up the wrong tree<\/strong> means “making a mistake or a false assumption in something you are trying to achieve”. It comes from hunting dogs barking up trees where they thought their quarry was hiding, but wasn’t [source<\/a>].<\/p>\n Apparently one French equivalent of this phrase is Frapper \u00e0 la mauvaise porte<\/em> (to knock at the wrong door). Does anybody know the origins of this expression?<\/p>\n Another French equivalent is se mettre le doigt dans l’\u0153il<\/em> (to put your finger in your eye).<\/p>\n To get the wrong end of the stick<\/strong> means to misunderstand something. I combined the two phrases in the title of this post because I like playing with words. <\/p>\n One equivalent in French is comprendre de travers<\/em> (to understand in a crooked, askew or wrong way) [source<\/a>], se tromper<\/em> (to make a mistake) or faire fausse route<\/em> (to go the wrong way; be on the wrong track), which can also mean ‘to bark up the wrong tree’ [source<\/a>].<\/p>\n Are there equivalents of these phrases in other languages?<\/p>\n