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Glite Dictionary
to send to the Tower

to send to the Tower

1 9.9
To punish someone seriously, often by sending them to prison
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : enviar a la Torre
  • After speaking out against the king, he was sent to the Tower as punishment.

Examples

  • Many traitors in history were sent to the Tower for their crimes against the crown.

  • - Cromwell has been sent to the Tower of London in disgrace and he isn't even afforded a trial.

    The Game of Crowns: The Tudors (2023)

  • For her betrayal, the noblewoman was sent to the Tower, a fate feared by many.

Synonyms

to punish
vsto send to the Tower
821 1.0

Make someone suffer for doing something wrong

is a more severe historical or symbolic penalty than general rule enforcement
to imprison
vsto send to the Tower
  • Formal
178 4.2

Put someone in prison as a punishment or keep them locked up

is a severe often historical symbolic penalty rather than merely legal confinement
to banish
vsto send to the Tower
107 6.3

Force someone to leave a place or group and not let them return

involves removal from a community rather than harsh historical confinement
to pillory
vsto send to the Tower
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To put someone in a wooden frame with holes for the head and hands for public shame

focuses on confinement and severe symbolic penalty rather than public shaming

Antonyms

release
279 1.8

An act of letting someone or something go free from being held

to pardon
  • Formal
92 3.9

To officially forgive someone for a crime and free them from punishment

How Severe

to execute
  • Formal
294 6.1
to send to the Tower
  • Archaic
1 9.9
to imprison
  • Formal
178 4.2
to exile
46 5.6
to punish
821 1.0
to reprimand
  • Formal
33 6.1

Surface Forms

send to the Tower infinitive
sending to the Tower present participle
sends to the Tower third person singular
sent to the Tower past
sent to the Tower past participle

Morphology

send + to + the + Tower

The phrase is partly compositional: 'send' + 'to' + 'Tower' literally means to send someone to a specific place, which can suggest confinement. However, the idiomatic force—that the Tower of London is a place of imprisonment/punishment—is cultural/historical knowledge beyond knowing the individual words, so the full meaning is not predictable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Send to the Tower comes from the Tower of London, where rulers used to lock up and punish important prisoners inside the Tower. So, saying someone will be sent to the Tower today means they will be 'punished' or severely disciplined, often as a warning rather than a real prison trip.