Learn English – Barking up a tree (“barking up the wrong tree”)

idiomsmetaphorsphrase-meaning

I don't understand expression

barking up a wrong tree

Does it think about putting bark on tree or taking it off?
A person says

you're barking up the wrong tree

and he means

don't bother me

But what is it from?
Does he mean the bark is wrong kind for the tree?
Like "I am oak, take your pine bark!"
In Croation we say the wall is closed meaning you have the wrong wall, have to climb through another with window.
Is that how this means?

Best Answer

You have a hunting dog that helps you catch a wild animal. If it climbs up a tree, the dog is supposed to bark at the tree it climbed up. Imagine the situation where the dog is barking at a different (wrong) tree and you would be very disappointed at the dog.

  1. It could mean as a dog:

You are wasting your efforts and energy by pursuing the wrong path. In other words, you made the wrong choice.

  1. As a tree:

You are asking the wrong person. You have to ask somebody else. Leave me alone. I am not the tree you want.

The verb bark means the following:

to make the characteristic short loud cry of a dog.

It has nothing to do with the noun bark:

the tough exterior covering of a woody root or stem.

[Merriam-Webster]

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