What I think she meant was:
You’re barking up the wrong tree
1 1.
informal
be pursuing a mistaken or misguided line of thought or course of action.
informal
be pursuing a mistaken or misguided line of thought or course of action.
spoon·er·ism ˈspo͞onəˌrizəm/ noun a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect, as in the sentence you have hissed the mystery lectures, accidentally spoken instead of the intended sentence you have missed the history lectures.