up the river

Idioms  

1. To or in prison, as in They sent him up the river for five years. This phrase originally referred to Sing-Sing Prison, on the Hudson River about 30 miles north of New York City. So used from about 1890 on, it was broadened to apply to any prison by the early 1900s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

up the river

INÍRIDA, Colombia—A few miles up the river from this border outpost, vast mineral riches are buried in the Venezuelan jungle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026

California officials have joined a legal effort to restore water to the Kern River after an abrupt shutoff of water dried up the river and killed thousands of fish in Bakersfield.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2024

Rengganis hopes the momentum to clean up the river and address the region’s trash problem continues, so that future generations can also enjoy the area.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2023

Sunardi's village has been digging up the river bed since June, when the water in their wells ran out.

From Reuters ● Aug. 9, 2023

There were a bunch of them up the river, north a little ways, so she followed the sound of the water away from her farm.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

Related Words

• cell
• lockup
• penitentiary
• prison