up the river
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
I been beaten up by hoods, framed on a murder rap, beaten up by cops, sent up the river, beaten up by prison bulls, got a last - minute reprieve from the governor, and been beaten up by my girl.’
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review.
Common questions
What does “up the river” mean?
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Is “up the river” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.