Tropescilloscope: Red Herring

A misleading and distracting "clue". (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Asshole Victim Aluminum Christmas Trees Fatal Family Photo Not Using the "Z" Word Twist Ending Gender Flip After the End Not So Different Brutal Honesty Bottomless Magazines Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Jerkass Fainting The Oner Big Damn Heroes Body Horror Sir Swears-a-Lot Totally Radical Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Documentary Evil vs. Evil Race Against the Clock Would Hurt a Child Pet the Dog Sci-Fi Horror Revenge Fate Worse than Death Big Bad Drives Like Crazy Distracted by the Sexy Male Gaze The Mole Bland-Name Product Artistic License – Gun Safety Establishing Character Moment Rich Bitch The Cameo Heroes Want Redheads My Beloved Smother Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Good Is Not Nice Never Trust a Trailer Say My Name Paper-Thin Disguise Sexy Discretion Shot Easily Forgiven Cowboy Cop Humans Are Bastards Genre Throwback The X of Y Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Fat Bastard Fan Disservice Agony of the Feet An Arm and a Leg Ripped from the Headlines Public Domain Feature Films Determinator Television Movie Index Blood Knight '80s Hair And I Must Scream The Atoner Card-Carrying Villain folderlabel Catch-Phrase Taking You with Me Our Vampires Are Different Psychological Thriller Historical In-Joke From Bad to Worse Fake Shemp Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Every Car Is a Pinto Police Brutality Wicked Cultured Dull Surprise Neck Snap Bad Boss The Alleged Car Gainax Ending Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! A Father to His Men The Starscream Kids Are Cruel 20 Minutes into the Future The Chessmaster Department of Redundancy Department Recycled IN SPACE! How We Got Here Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Christmas Movies Index Big Brother Instinct Too Dumb to Live Disappeared Dad Cool Old Guy Black Best Friend Eiffel Tower Effect This Is Gonna Suck Disproportionate Retribution Awesome, but Impractical Those Two Guys Evil Brit Anachronism Stew Our Zombies Are Different Papa Wolf Fantastic Racism Laughing Mad Mythology Gag Mundane Made Awesome Knight Templar Fanservice Hollywood Law Dying Moment of Awesome As Long as It Sounds Foreign Victoria's Secret Compartment Video Credits War Is Hell The Brute Reasonable Authority Figure Insistent Terminology Fourth Date Marriage Big Applesauce The Lancer All Girls Want Bad Boys Back from the Dead The Stinger Beta Couple Honor Before Reason Imagine Spot Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Unwitting Instigator of Doom Running Gag Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Spared by the Adaptation Badass Longcoat Refuge in Audacity Gold Digger Break the Cutie Instant Death Bullet Product Placement Sequel Hook Failed a Spot Check Big Fancy House Only Sane Man Retirony Jerk with a Heart of Gold Covers Always Lie Alas, Poor Villain Peek-a-Boo Corpse No Ending Conspicuous CG Fiery Redhead Pyrrhic Victory Monumental Damage Arch-Enemy Extreme Doormat Moment Killer Due to the Dead Grievous Bottley Harm Reality Has No Subtitles Improbable Weapon User Captain Ersatz Malevolent Masked Men Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Hero Antagonist Skewed Priorities It's All About Me Shower Scene Jitter Cam Straight Gay Red Herring Black Dude Dies First Heel Realization Parental Substitute Artistic License – Geography Rated M for Manly Together in Death Dies Wide Open Star-Crossed Lovers Once More, with Clarity! Extremely Short Timespan Better to Die than Be Killed Beauty Is Never Tarnished Armor-Piercing Question Crazy-Prepared Reality Ensues Expy Punch-Clock Villain Eye Scream Shut Up, Hannibal! Mr. Exposition An Axe to Grind timeperiod Hypocrite Big Bad Duumvirate Cool Old Lady Your Head A-Splode Deliberate Values Dissonance Catapult Nightmare Girl-on-Girl Is Hot The Musical Needs Wiki Magic Love Humiliation Conga Adapted Out Laser-Guided Karma Affectionate Parody Scenery Gorn Deliberately Monochrome Character Development Exact Words I Want My Beloved to Be Happy The Chick A.I. Is a Crapshoot Corrupt Corporate Executive Dumb Blonde Red Eyes, Take Warning Didn't Think This Through Bald of Evil Brother–Sister Incest Dramatic Irony Improvised Weapon Bar Brawl Pragmatic Villainy Creative Closing Credits Wrong Genre Savvy Evil Counterpart Slasher Smile The Voiceless Storming the Castle Celebrity Paradox Left the Background Music On Advertised Extra Kick the Son of a Bitch Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Bloodier and Gorier B-Movie You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Contrived Coincidence Worthy Opponent Adaptation Name Change Line-of-Sight Name "Awesome McCool" Name British Films No Name Given Same Language Dub Non-Indicative Name No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Award-Bait Song Ascended Extra Annoying Younger Sibling Artistic License – Military The Bad Guy Wins Kill 'em All Author Appeal Japanese Films Credits Gag Slap-Slap-Kiss Faux Affably Evil Love at First Sight Evil Plan Rule of Cool Kick the Dog Get Out! It Will Never Catch On Spell My Name with an "S" Mexican Standoff Ghost Fiction "Well Done, Son!" Guy Chekhov's Skill Male Frontal Nudity The Sociopath Decoy Protagonist Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Unresolved Sexual Tension Make It Look Like an Accident Italian Films German Films Rape as Drama I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Happily Married Film Series Plucky Comic Relief Last-Name Basis Whole Plot Reference BFG Throwing Your Sword Always Works Not Quite Dead Cool Shades Air-Vent Passageway Dark Action Girl My Greatest Failure Femme Fatale Vomit Indiscretion Shot Bullying a Dragon Everyone Has Standards Age Lift Dutch Angle Cain and Abel Manic Pixie Dream Girl Even Evil Has Loved Ones I Need a Freaking Drink Blood from the Mouth Chekhov's Gunman Really Gets Around O.O.C. Is Serious Business What You Are in the Dark No-Sell Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Leitmotif Funny Foreigner Affably Evil Soundtrack Dissonance Bond One-Liner Martial Arts Movie Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Facial Horror Does This Remind You of Anything? Flipping the Bird Dramatic Gun Cock Riddle for the Ages Gilligan Cut Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Fingore The Lost Lenore The '70s Mercy Kill Children Are Innocent The '90s Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass For the Evulz Funny Background Event Scare Chord Mad Scientist Book-Ends Accidental Misnaming Off with His Head! "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue "The Reason You Suck" Speech Cool Car Mistaken for Gay Faking the Dead Sole Survivor The Stoner Daddy's Girl Roaring Rampage of Revenge The Stoic Crapsack World Pretty Little Headshots Central Theme Redemption Equals Death Romantic False Lead Soft Glass Spiteful Spit Only a Flesh Wound Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Dirty Coward Badass Boast Dogged Nice Guy Spanner in the Works Visual Pun Damsel in Distress And Starring Four-Temperament Ensemble Calling the Old Man Out NO INDOOR VOICE Put on a Bus Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Double Entendre Attempted Rape Sanity Slippage Dark Reprise Historical Villain Upgrade Stealth Hi/Bye Works Set in World War II My God, What Have I Done? Immune to Bullets Handicapped Badass Action Girl Comically Missing the Point Batman Gambit Obfuscating Stupidity Sacrificial Lion The Smurfette Principle No Celebrities Were Harmed Chase Scene Zombie Stories Dual Wielding Canadian Movies Took a Level in Jerkass Ax-Crazy Greater-Scope Villain Rule of Three Crazy Jealous Guy Trailers Always Spoil There Is No Kill Like Overkill Chewing the Scenery The '80s Bury Your Gays Knife Nut Ominous Latin Chanting Stepford Smiler Action Prologue Cruel and Unusual Death Let's Get Dangerous! Ship Tease Well-Intentioned Extremist Drowning My Sorrows French Films Adult Fear Only Known by Their Nickname Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Almost Kiss Not So Stoic Outrun the Fireball Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer The Power of Love Earn Your Happy Ending Abusive Parents I Did What I Had to Do The Faceless Mind Screw Sassy Black Woman Continuity Nod Author Avatar The Dragon Eyepatch of Power Hong Kong Films Dressing as the Enemy Real Life Foregone Conclusion "Shaggy Dog" Story Film Noir Index Aside Glance Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome MacGuffin Creator Cameo Red Oni, Blue Oni Artistic License – Physics Insane Troll Logic An Aesop Abhorrent Admirer Homage Badass Bookworm Loads and Loads of Characters Curb-Stomp Battle Unspoken Plan Guarantee Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Narrator Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Punny Name Karmic Death Camp Gay The Smart Guy Captain Obvious Death of a Child Tempting Fate Only in It for the Money Dissonant Serenity Five-Man Band Horror Comedy Index of Film Westerns Artistic License – Law Overprotective Dad Curse Cut Short Artistic License – History Dark and Troubled Past Defrosting Ice Queen Psycho for Hire Morality Pet Married to the Job Rewatch Bonus Historical Hero Upgrade Amusing Injuries She's Got Legs Sealed Evil in a Can Chiaroscuro Bi the Way Politically Incorrect Villain Loophole Abuse Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Pretty in Mink Posthumous Character Beard of Evil Brainless Beauty The Great Depression Bavarian Fire Drill The Cavalry From Nobody to Nightmare Adaptation Expansion Driven to Suicide Suspiciously Similar Substitute Cat Scare Your Cheating Heart Historical-Domain Character Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Taking the Bullet Hate Sink Evil Is Hammy Cool Guns Made of Iron Film Noir Amoral Attorney Thriller Villain Ball Dirty Old Man Genre Shift Belligerent Sexual Tension Apocalypse How Tagline As You Know Freudian Excuse Jerk Jock Idiot Ball Villain Song Parental Neglect Rule of Funny Black Comedy Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Biopic Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Hooker with a Heart of Gold Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Henpecked Husband Bunny-Ears Lawyer Meaningful Echo Gory Discretion Shot Call-Back A God Am I Offscreen Teleportation Novelization Double-Meaning Title All Just a Dream Big Eater The Quiet One Red Shirt Shipper on Deck Foreshadowing Only One Name The Hero Horror Films The '60s Action Genre Leaning on the Fourth Wall Villain Protagonist Enemy Mine Downer Ending Would Hit a Girl Stalker with a Crush Anachronic Order Retired Badass Death by Adaptation Expository Hairstyle Change The End... Or Is It? Shoot the Shaggy Dog Plot Hole Retcon Meet Cute Stuff Blowing Up What the Hell, Hero? Shell-Shocked Veteran Oh, Crap! Light Is Not Good Crucified Hero Shot Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? The Big Guy Vomit Discretion Shot Empathic Environment Major Injury Underreaction Darker and Edgier Death by Irony Sadistic Choice Fantasy Films Important Haircut Cold-Blooded Torture Chekhov's Gun Not So Above It All Face–Heel Turn Bond Villain Stupidity Room Full of Crazy Despair Event Horizon Smoking Is Cool Vitriolic Best Buds Fanservice Extra Alpha Bitch Parental Abandonment Half the Man He Used to Be Guns Akimbo Never Found the Body Villain Opening Scene Those Two Bad Guys He Who Fights Monsters Token Minority Eagleland Reckless Gun Usage Reality Is Unrealistic Nice Guy Disney Death Manchild Playing Gertrude May–December Romance Take That! The Ace Beware the Nice Ones Deadpan Snarker Stylistic Suck Face Death with Dignity Country Matters Ass Shove I Have Your Wife Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Intergenerational Friendship The Mafia Made of Explodium Bilingual Bonus Even Evil Has Standards Eureka Moment No OSHA Compliance Cat Fight Broken Pedestal Mooks Obviously Evil Tap on the Head Poor Communication Kills Butt-Monkey The Dreaded Race Lift Cluster F-Bomb Pragmatic Adaptation Woman in White Betty and Veronica Heroic BSoD Casting Gag Broken Bird Not Even Bothering with the Accent The Bully Ambiguous Ending Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Ironic Echo Leave the Camera Running Blackmail Undying Loyalty Wham Line Serial Killer Dramedy Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Pimped-Out Dress Be Careful What You Wish For Black Comedy Rape Closed Circle Lampshade Hanging Kill It with Fire Smug Snake Exactly What It Says on the Tin Early-Bird Cameo As Himself Anti-Villain Arranged Marriage Yandere Maybe Ever After Translation Convention Fun with Acronyms Epic Movie Adaptational Heroism Death by Sex Naked People Are Funny Break the Haughty A Date with Rosie Palms It's Personal Actually Pretty Funny The Remake Ambiguous Disorder Getting Crap Past the Radar Hero of Another Story Word of God Broken Aesop Super Strength Hypocritical Humor Dark Is Not Evil Mr. Fanservice Framing Device Domestic Abuse Babies Ever After He Knows Too Much Self-Deprecation And the Adventure Continues Informed Ability Obstructive Bureaucrat One-Man Army A Minor Kidroduction Superhero Bad "Bad Acting" Dwindling Party The Hero Dies Intrepid Reporter Demoted to Extra Interrupted Suicide Bound and Gagged Famous Last Words The Vamp Adaptation Distillation Protagonist Title Big-Bad Ensemble Fish out of Water You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Evil Laugh Mama Bear Heroic Sacrifice Call-Forward Action Survivor Nothing Is Scarier Lock and Load Montage Fatal Flaw Love Triangle The Casanova Logo Joke The Place Shown Their Work Breaking the Fourth Wall Animal Title Index The '50s One-Word Title You Killed My Father Small Name, Big Ego Real Life Writes the Plot Anyone Can Die Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Hope Spot Car Fu Disguised in Drag The Ditz Missing Mom Danny Peary Cult Movies List Nice Hat Becoming the Mask Authority Equals Asskicking Grey and Gray Morality Mugging the Monster The Un-Reveal Villainous Breakdown More Dakka Hell Is That Noise Antagonist Title The Film of the Book Black and Gray Morality Man on Fire Up to Eleven Animal Motifs Science Fiction Films Early Installment Weirdness Villain with Good Publicity Corpsing True Companions Killed Mid-Sentence All There in the Script Market-Based Title Offscreen Moment of Awesome Tranquil Fury Animated Credits Opening Badass Normal Hollywood Darkness Manipulative Bastard Psychopathic Manchild Bait-and-Switch Adaptation Dye-Job Kubrick Stare Heel–Face Turn Take a Third Option Costume Porn Canon Foreigner Properly Paranoid Deconstruction Silence Is Golden Does Not Like Shoes The Ghost In the Back Parental Incest Actor Allusion Mood Whiplash Bittersweet Ending Spiritual Successor Stealth Pun As the Good Book Says... One Steve Limit Names to Run Away from Really Fast Training Montage Very Loosely Based on a True Story Implacable Man Camera Abuse Evil-Detecting Dog Took a Level in Badass Groin Attack Neck Lift Never My Fault Military and Warfare Films Gratuitous English Suspiciously Specific Denial Shirtless Scene Arc Words Big "NO!" Alliterative Name Brick Joke Ungrateful Bastard In Name Only Scary Black Man Auto Erotica Scenery Porn Friend to All Children Toplessness from the Back Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Daylight Horror Ambiguously Gay Death Glare I'm a Humanitarian Insult Backfire Cassandra Truth Slasher Movie Evil Is Petty The Reveal For Want of a Nail Bring My Brown Pants Unreliable Narrator The Dog Bites Back Police are Useless Anti-Hero All for Nothing Accidental Murder She Cleans Up Nicely Time Skip Mystery and Detective Films Deal with the Devil Determinator aka: The Determinator Australian Movies Meaningful Background Event Green-Eyed Monster Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Frame-Up Final Girl Adorkable Bolivian Army Ending Blatant Lies Fire-Forged Friends Adaptational Attractiveness Precision F-Strike Flashback World of Ham Badass in a Nice Suit Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Mighty Whitey Romantic Comedy Woman Scorned Russian Films Heterosexual Life-Partners Adaptational Villainy Disney Villain Death Ms. Fanservice Defiant to the End Unusually Uninteresting Sight Creepy Child Bloodless Carnage Eldritch Abomination Based on a True Story Dirty Cop Sequel Escalation Sports Stories You Have Failed Me Pay Evil unto Evil Show Within a Show Rasputinian Death Pre-Mortem One-Liner Shout-Out Did Not Get the Girl Evil Sounds Deep Coming-of-Age Story Destination Defenestration The Alcoholic Men Are the Expendable Gender Here We Go Again! The Load La Résistance Bowdlerise Composite Character The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Demonic Possession Truth in Television Wounded Gazelle Gambit Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Dropped a Bridge on Him Off-into-the-Distance Ending Meaningful Name Have a Gay Old Time Gorn Karma Houdini Red Right Hand Genre Savvy Bloody Hilarious Jerkass Has a Point Unusual Euphemism Cloudcuckoolander Rule of Symbolism Large Ham Hoist by His Own Petard Developing Doomed Characters Not What It Looks Like Foil Boom, Headshot! Stock Footage Random Events Plot Epic Fail Diabolus ex Machina Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Those Wacky Nazis Older Than They Look Hidden Depths What Happened to the Mouse? Anguished Declaration of Love Wretched Hive Vacation Films All There in the Manual Noodle Incident It Can Think Guile Hero Madness Mantra Suddenly SHOUTING! N-Word Privileges Motor Mouth Serious Business Music Stories Badass Grandpa Drugs Are Bad Gone Horribly Right Re-Cut Vampire Fiction Match Cut Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Artistic License – Biology Adaptational Badass Manly Tears Setting Update Lighter and Softer Darkest Hour Deus ex Machina Rousing Speech Bare Your Midriff All Men Are Perverts Depraved Bisexual Overly Long Gag Combat Pragmatist Drill Sergeant Nasty Irony Hair-Trigger Temper Naïve Newcomer No Antagonist Jump Scare Wham Shot Adults Are Useless Death Seeker Sinister Minister Freeze-Frame Bonus Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Slashed Throat Title Drop Silent Movie Redshirt Army Berserk Button Improbable Aiming Skills In Medias Res