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.

---

Example Sentences

She said one theory was that the Italian ship sank with a cargo of leather shoes and these were washed up the River Ogmore and ended up embedded in the river banks "and every now and again they are released".

From BBC

Now he would need a strong team of men to help him tow the obelisk up the river, bring it ashore, drag it halfway across the island of Manhattan, & stand it up in Central Park. & he needs a smart young man like me to help.

From Literature

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

From Literature

In July, the U.S. and Mexican governments signed an agreement pledging to clean up the river.

From Los Angeles Times

Further up the river, Chapin named Chicopee, a Nipmuc word for evergreen red cedar.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cell
• lockup
• penitentiary
• prison