sell down the river
To betray, especially in a manner which causes serious difficulty for the one betrayedTo betray, especially in a manner which causes serious difficulty for the one betrayed.
» Tom sold me down the river.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(idiomatic)To betray, especially in a manner which causes serious difficulty for the one betrayed.
Examples
5 sentencesTom sold me down the river.
I will never sell my friend down the river for anything in the world.
Що б ни сталося, я ніколи не зраджу своїх друзів. — User55521
ruНи за какие сокровища мира я друга не предам. — Ann74
He sold me down the river.
The Trump administration just wants to sell Ukraine down the river.
If you engage in espionage for a foreign power, you are selling your country down the river.
Origin
Probably from the practice in the U.S., prior to the American Civil War, of trading in slaProbably from the practice in the U.S., prior to the American Civil War, of trading in slaves who were transported via the Mississippi River:
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
sells down the river, selling down the river, sold down the river, sold down the river| Base form | sell down the river · to sell down the river |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | sells down the river |
| Present participle | selling down the river |
| Past simple | sold down the river |
| Past participle | sold down the river |
irregular · Lesson
Synonyms
24 synonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.