Barking Up the Wrong Tree

(Explaining Idiomatic Expressions)

by aLfie vera mella

A friend at work confided in me that there are some coworkers of ours who comment that I am a very quiet person and that they sometimes find it hard to read my mind.

I am not a quiet person; I am simply selective. I simply select the appropriate venue where to express certain ideas and opinions. I conserve my time and energy by expressing my ideas and opinions in the right situations.

When I'm with a group engaged in small talks like gossips, I remain silent and uninvolved. When I'm at a meeting or any training sessions or conferences, that's when I don't hold my piece every time I think I have something useful to contribute to the discussion. When I have an issue with someone, I don't talk about this with others; I find a tactful way to deal with the person with the intention of resolving the issue.

Many people are noisy and opinionated when they're in the hallways or in the lunchroom. But when they are at a meeting or in front of people with whom they have issues, they clam up and become timid. And, for some reason, they get resentful to those who have the courage to express their ideas. People like these are just increasing the level of the stress that they face every day.

The above situations are examples in which the idiomatic expression "Barking up the wrong tree" may be observed being at play.

The Last Leaf

Many people waste their ideas and opinions and misdirect their sentiments by "barking" [expressing] them up the "wrong tree" [wrong forum, wrong persons, or inappropriate situations].