32．把某人卖到下游去

［词语］to sell sb. down the river

［含义］出卖某人；欺骗某人；背叛某人

［趣释］【物事喻指】过去，美国北方人把黑人家奴卖给密西西比河（Mississippi River）下游的南方甘蔗种植园园主，那里的生活、劳动条件更差，黑奴受到更加残酷的压迫和折磨。现在，人们用“把某人卖到下游去”（to sell sb. down the river）喻指出卖某人、欺骗某人、背叛某人。

［运用］At a mass meeting of car workers called by shop stewards the official leadership was accused of selling the rank and file down the river． 在工人代表召集的一次汽车工人群众大会上，工会领袖们被指控出卖了工会会员的利益。

Those African leaders have now fallen victims of neo-colonialism and sold their fellow Aficans down the river.那些非洲领袖现已沦为新殖民主义的牺牲品而将同胞出卖了。

I might have been sorry to my friends, but I have never sold and will never sold them down the river． 我也许做过对不起朋友的事，但我从来没有也永远不会出卖他们。

Our boss promised he'd never sell our company to another firm. But when he got a good offer, he sold us down the river, and the new owners brought in their own people and fired us． 我们的老板曾保证绝对不转让我们的公司，但是当别人肯出好价钱的时候，他就出卖了我们的利益。新老板把自己的人拉进公司来，却把我们炒了鱿鱼。