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sell down the river

Betray, as in They kept the merger a secret until the last minute, so the employees who were laid off felt they'd been sold down the river. This expression, dating from the mid-1800s, alludes to slaves being sold down the Mississippi River to work as laborers on cotton plantations. Its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

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Just this week, I overheard someone in Los Angeles, the Liberal Elite Capital of the World, use the phrase “sell down the river” with a blitheness that clearly demonstrated they had no idea of the terrible history and impact of the idiom.

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He’s quick to champion the Second and 10th amendments but happy to sell down the river other constitutional priorities such as the 14th Amendment - ironically, one of the greatest of all Republican legacies.

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