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

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

For seven years she’s been an activist fighting to clean up the river as a volunteer with Surfrider, a nonprofit that works to preserve ocean access and cleanliness.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2024

The payments will be used in part to clean up the river, including addressing contamination from its former power plants.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 5, 2024

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

And then finally somebody shouted and we all looked to see the steamboat towing the pontoon boat up the river.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman

Related Words

• cell
• lockup
• penitentiary
• prison