Barking up the wrong tree: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:19, 14 February 2017

Revision as of 21:20, 14 February 2017

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==Historical usage==

* 1833 &ndash; "It doesn't take a Philadelphia lawyer to tell that the man who serves the master one day, and the enemy six, has just six chances out of seven to go to the devil. You are ''barking up the wrong tree,'' Johnson."—James Hall, ''Legends of the West,'' p.&nbsp;46.<ref name="Thornton43">Thornton, Richard H. and Louise Hanley. (1912). ''An aAmerican puppy to ''bark up the wrong tree.'' -- Chemung (NY) Democratglossary,'' September 18p. 183943.</ref name="Thornton43"/>

* 1833 &ndash; "I told him that he reminded me of the meanest thing on God's earth, an old coon dog ''barking up the wrong tree''." -- ''Sketches of David Crockett," p. 58. (New York).<ref name="Thornton43"/>

*1834 &ndash; "[The Indians] to use a Western phrase, ''barked up the wrong tree'' when they got hold of Tom Smith." <ref>{{cite book|last=Pike|first=Albert|title=Prose Sketches and Poems Written in the Western Country|publisher=Publisher Kessinger Publishing|year=2003|pages=30|isbn=978-0-7661-4465-1|url=https://books.google.ie/books?id=kGebqlS7J78C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Prose+Sketches+and+Poems+Written+in+the+Western+Country&cd=1#v=snippet&q=barked&f=false|accessdate=2010-01-18}}</ref>

* 1836 &ndash; "You've been ''barking up the wrong tree,'' cried the Ohioan." -- ''Knickerbocker Magazine,'' p. vii. 15 January 1836.<ref name="Thornton43"/>

* 1838 &ndash; "Instead of having treed their game, gentlemen will find themselves still ''barking up the wrong tree''." -- Mr. Duncan of Ohio in the [[United States House of Representatives]], July 7: ''Congressional Globe,'' p. 474, Appendix.<ref name="Thornton43"/>

* 1839 &ndash; "The same reckless indifference which causes a puppy to ''bark up the wrong tree.'' -- Chemung (NY) Democrat,'' September 18. 1839.<ref name="Thornton43"/>

==References==