basket case

In the sense of “an amputee,” this term is perceived as insulting. It is military slang dating from World War I. Basket cases were soldiers who had lost all of their limbs and could not be safely carried on stretchers, though these types of casualties were probably very rare. At that time, a basket case was a wicker basket used to carry linens or other dry goods.

Words nearby basket case

basivertebral vein, bask, Baskerville, basket, basketball, basket case, basket catch, basket cell, basket chair, basket clause, basket dinner

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use basket case in a sentence

Certain features of its history suggest why this may be the case.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
And, in the case of fluoride, at least, that doubt might actually be justified.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Her latest book, Heretic: The Case for a Muslim Reformation, will be published in April by HarperCollins.
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Their friendship began when Krauss, who was chairman of the physics department at Case Western in Cleveland, sought out Epstein.
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A grand juror in the Ferguson case is suing to be able to explain exactly what went down in the courtroom.
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The case was an assault and battery that came off between two men named Brown and Henderson.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
In this case, I suspect, there was co-operant a strongly marked childish characteristic, the love of producing an effect.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Sometimes in the case of large plants, cones have been known to occur on the tips of the branches of the Marsh Horsetail.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
As a rule, however, even in the case of extreme varieties, a careful examination of the specimen will enable it to be identified.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
Thus was the man left entirely to the devil, not even his life being reserved, as in the case of Job.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway

British Dictionary definitions for basket case

basket case

noun slang

a person who is suffering from extreme nervous strain; nervous wreck

mainly US and Canadian taboo a person who has had both arms and both legs amputated

someone or something that is incapable of functioning normally
(as modifier)a basket-case economy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with basket case

basket case

A person or thing too impaired to function. For example, The stress of moving twice in one year left her a basket case, or The republics of the former Soviet Union are economic basket cases. Originating in World War I for a soldier who had lost all four limbs in combat and consequently had to be carried in a litter (“basket”), this term was then transferred to an emotionally or mentally unstable person and later to anything that failed to function. [Slang; second half of 1900s]

basket case

Origin of basket case

usage note for basket case

Words nearby basket case

Words related to basket case

How to use basket case in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for basket case

Other Idioms and Phrases with basket case