river

sail up a river

to travel upstream on a river in a boat or ship. We sailed up the Amazon River in a large, seagoing ship. It was not possible to sail up the Mississippi as far as we wanted.

See also: sail, up

sell someone out and sell someone down the river

to betray someone; to reveal damaging information about someone. Bill told everything he knew about Bob, and that sold Bob down the river. You'll be sorry if you sell me out. Lefty sold out his friends, and we'll all soon be arrested.

See also: out, sell

sell something out

to sell all of something. Have they sold their supply out yet? The stores sold out their stocks of that game long before Christmas.

See also: out, sell

sell out (to someone) 

1. to sell everything, such as all one's property or one's company, to someone. The farmer finally gave up and sold out to a large corporation. I refuse to sell out no matter what they offer me.

2. to betray someone or something to someone. I think that you have sold out to the enemy!

See also: out, sell

sell out (to someone) 

1. to sell everything, such as all one's property or one's company, to someone. The farmer finally gave up and sold out to a large corporation. I refuse to sell out no matter what they offer me.

2. to betray someone or something to someone. I think that you have sold out to the enemy!

See also: out, sell

send someone up the river

Fig. to send someone to prison. (Underworld. As done by a judge or indirectly by the police.) They tried to send me up the river, but my testimony got me off. I'm gonna send you up the river if it's the last thing I do.

See also: send, up

up the river

Sl. in prison. (Underworld.) Gary was up the river for a couple of years, but that doesn't make him an outcast, does it? The judge who sent him up the river was indicted for accepting bribery. If Gary had only known sooner!

See also: up

---

sell somebody down the river

to do something which harms or disappoints someone who trusted you, in order to get an advantage for yourself A lot of people feel they have been sold down the river by a government who have failed to keep their pre-election promises.

See also: sell

---

sell somebody down the river

to do something that hurts someone who trusted you Workers complained that their leaders sold them down the river in the latest contract negotiations.

Related vocabulary: sell out somebody/something

See also: sell

sell out

to accept money to stop following your principles So many musicians simply sell out to the demands of the industry and abandon their art.

See also: out, sell

sell out (of something)

to sell all of something, so that there is none left We sold out of the souvenir T-shirts in the first couple of hours. During the summer the campgrounds are sold out each night. Her cruises regularly book up months in advance and almost always sell out.

See also: out, sell

sell out somebody/something also sell somebody/something out

to stop being loyal to someone or something He accused Congress of selling out the American people to lawyers who opposed the bill. I could sell you all out and go straight to the police with this information.

Usage notes: often money is the advantage that is gotten: Anyone who would sell out his own country for money deserves to go to prison for life.

Related vocabulary: sell somebody down the river

See also: out, sell