Sold up the garden path

This seems to be a mixture of "led down the garden path" (meaning misled) and "sold up the river" (meaning "handed over to law enforcement", slang derived from the fact that Sing-Sing state prison is "up the (Hudson?) river" from New York City).

The enthusiastic young first-time buyer was led down the garden path by the unscrupulous used-car salesman.

The entire gang that pulled off the bank heist was sold up the river by the getaway driver after he was picked up and interrogated the next day.

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Sold up the garden path

To be humiliated by your opponent in an activity of competitive nature, or to be conned or outsmarted by something/someone.

If one was to beat another at a sport such as pool, and said person beat the other by "8-balling" him, then he could've been said to have been "sold up the garden path" by the victor.

If one was to have bought something for £400 that could normally have been purchased for a fraction of the price, he could also have been said to have been "sold up the garden path".

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