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# up the river

phrase (idiom, adverb phrase, «up the river», «send someone up the river»)

«up the river» in the English dictionary: in the primary school — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## In the primary school

Source: Mova's pupils' dictionary. Licence: [Elamur Cosmic License](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/LICENSE/). Reviewed: the dictionary the pupils of Mova's primary school read; its examples quote the lessons and public-domain tales. Ships with Mova.

### Meaning

1. (euphemism, old-fashioned, US) in prison: «sent up the river» = sent to jail.
2. (literal) further along a river towards where it starts.

### In the lessons

From the old American practice of sending New York prisoners up the Hudson River to a big prison; used in crime films, old gangster stories and jokes. The literal sense is common in geography and travel.

### Examples

- (film) The judge sent him up the river for a long stretch.
- (gangster story) "Talk, or you'll go up the river."
- (joke) Uncle Joe spent some time up the river.
- (geography) The salmon swim up the river to lay their eggs.
- (travel) We took a boat trip up the river.
- (maths) The boat travels up the river at 4 km/h against the current.

### Note

Trap: in maths and geography «up the river» means against the current, towards the source; boats go slower upstream. Only in crime talk does it mean prison. Not the same as «up the creek» (in trouble).