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 like Hot Dogs sell sell on sell like hot cakes sell down sell ice to eskimos sell in may and go away sell my clothes, I'm going to heaven scale down sell one's soul sell sell a bargain sell down sell away

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Alex
US English
David
US English
Mark
US English
Daniel
British
Libby
British
Mia
British
Karen
Australian
Hayley
Australian
Natasha
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. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/sell-down-the-river_6647>.

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