His vain efforts to seduce her showed he was barking up the wrong tree; she was a mother of two tots.

It's wrong of you to talk back to her.

I erred in thinking him trustworthy.

He has too many wild ideas.

All of his answers were wide of the mark.

His remark seems to be off the point.

My first guess was wide off the mark.

My first guess was wide off the mark.

You are barking up the wrong tree by asking me to betray my country.

I'm afraid your guess is off the mark.

If we let our reasoning power be overshadowed by our emotions, we would be barking up the wrong tree all the time.