1
general::
1. Put in prison, as in He'll be sent up for at least ten years. [Mid-1800s] 2. Cause to rise, as in The emissions sent up by that factory are clearly poisonous. [Late 1500s] 3. Satirize, make a parody of, as in This playwright has a genius for sending up suburban life. [First half of 1900s] 4. send up a trial balloon. See TRIAL BALLOON.
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
Phrase(s): send someone or something up
1. Lit. to order someone to go upward to a higher level; to arrange for something to be taken upward to a higher level. • I’ll send up Gary. • They are hungry on the tenth floor. Let’s send some sandwiches up. 2. Fig. to parody or ridicule someone or something. • Comedians love to send the president or some other famous person up. • The comedian sent up the vice president., Phrase(s): send someone up (the river)
Fig. to send someone to prison. (Underworld. As done by a judge or indirectly by the police.) • They tried to send me up the river, but my testimony got me off. • I’m gonna send you up the river if it’s the last thing I do., Phrase(s): send someone up
Fig. to mock or ridicule, particularly by imitation. • Last week, he sent the prime minister up. • In his act, he sends up famous people.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs