up the river

A reference to Sing Sing prison, which is located on the Hudson river, to the north of (and upstream from) New York City.

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

up the river

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