Cliché: barking up the wrong tree

Meaning: talking to the wrong person; making the wrong choice. Origins.
Rewrite 1: planting a weed where you want a flower
Rewrite 2: picking a rotten apple
Rewrite 3: taking home an empty bag
Rewrite 4: ringing^iv3 your own doorbell
Rewrite 5: singing in the wrong key

Comment: This rewrite is fun and easy – just think of a creative way of saying, “You’re making a bad choice.”

More reading about clichés
What I found when I googled “clichés” [NOTE: I’m already on page 15 of the results pages!]:
• Not so grand Cliché List: “Modern (sometimes painfully modern) jokes/clichés/conventions of society…”