down the riverside

Question

A female dead body with both arms and legs cut off was found this morning down the riverside.Hi,For a start, is "dead" redundant in the above?Second, what exactly does "down the riverside" refer to? Does it mean "along or at the downstream of the river?" Thanks.

Philip · Accepted Answer

AngliholicA female dead body with both arms and legs cut off was found this morning down the riverside.

Hi,

For a start, is "dead" redundant in the above?
Second, what exactly does "down the riverside" refer to? Does it mean "along or at the downstream of the river?" Thanks.

Yes, I think 'dead' is not necessary. 'At' or 'on' sounds much better that 'down'. 'Down [the] river' has a couple of meanings but isn't appropriate here.

Angliholic · Answer

Thanks, Philip.
But I still don't know why "down the riverside" doesn't work. Could you shed a bit more light?

Philip · Answer

Down [the] river on the bank. I just don't "hear" down the riverside as normal. Sorry I can't be more specific.

Hoa Thai · Answer

Hi Angliholic,

Did you mean down the river? As Philip said, down the riverside is not common phrase that I have heard in the context that you provided. You can find people say down the riverside in which down is used in a phrasal verb such as continue down, as in: "continue (to walk) down the riverside."

Here is an extract that contains the phrase down the river from Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe for your review:

“the slaves’ complete lack of human rights, including those of self-defense and of offering court testimony; what attachments and families they created were destroyed at whim by their owners, whose human property could be sold down the river, pursued through every state and territory, and, in the case of young females, exploited as a harem.”

down the riverside

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