This expression means to misdirect one's effort. This phrase comes from the USA and originates in the practice of racoon hunting. Raccoons are partly nocturnal animals and often take sanctuary in trees. The allusion is to hunting dogs barking at the bottom of trees where they occasionally, in the dark, mistakenly think their quarry is hiding. The earliest known printed citation is from 1832.

Übersetzung:

auf dem Holzweg sein

Gegenteil(e)

The opposite of "to bark up the wrong tree" is "to be headed in the right direction".

Synonym(e):

You could also say: to be pursuing a mistaken line of thought.