up the river

A reference to Sing Sing prison on the Hudson River.

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up the river

1. (US, idiomatic) To prison.
   • 1990, "Pete Rose: He doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame," Dallas Morning News 21 July (retrieved 23 Sep. 2010):

     The former baseball player that Cincinnati idolized is being sent up the river to Ashland, Ky., to serve a prison term for cheating on his taxes.

• Often preceded by the verb to send.

• Thesaurus:jail