sell down the river

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sell down the river

To betray, especially in a manner which causes serious difficulty for the one betrayed.

Etymology:

Probably from the practice in the U.S., prior to the American Civil War, of trading in slaves who were transported via the Mississippi River:

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Collection Edit

Submitted on September 01, 2009

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to sell down the river

sell away sell out sell one's soul sell like hot cakes sell sell on sell off save down sell away sell sell sell oneself sell someone a bill of goods sell out

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Alex
US English
David
US English
Mark
US English
Daniel
British
Libby
British
Mia
British
Karen
Australian
Hayley
Australian
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Australian
Veena
Indian
Priya
Indian
Neerja
Indian
Zira
US English
Oliver
British
Wendy
British
Fred
US English
Tessa
South African

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"sell down the river." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/sell-down-the-river_6647>.

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