A "garden path" is a type of sentence that initially leads readers to interpret it in one way, but then requires them to reanalyze it to understand the correct meaning. This phenomenon occurs because the structure of the sentence can be misleading, causing confusion as the reader progresses through it. For example, the sentence "The horse raced past the barn fell" makes readers think of a horse racing, but it actually refers to a horse that has been raced. Garden path sentences highlight the complexities of language and how context influences comprehension.