SELL SB DOWN THE RIVER


Meaning of SELL SB DOWN THE RIVER in English

( informal ) to give poor or unfair treatment to sb you have promised to help

ORIGIN: From the custom of buying and selling slaves on the plantations on the Mississippi river in America. Slaves who caused trouble for their masters could be sold to plantation owners lower down the river, where conditions would be worse.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.