handbasket

[ hand-bas-kit, -bah-skit ]

/ ˈhændˌbæs kɪt, -ˌbɑ skɪt /

a small basket with a handle for carrying by hand.

Nearby words

go to hell in a handbasket, to degenerate quickly and decisively: The economy has gone to hell in a handbasket.

First recorded in 1485–95; hand + basket

You think the country has gone to “hell in a handbasket” under the current administration and party leadership.
Flushing Money Down the Tea Party Toilet|Tom Dougherty|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yes, it can be argued the country has gone to “hell in a handbasket.”
Flushing Money Down the Tea Party Toilet|Tom Dougherty|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is not a lament that things have gone to hell in a handbasket since some mythical golden era.
Mike Wallace and the Passing of an Era|Howard Kurtz|April 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The world, he told himself, was going to hell in a handbasket.
Occasion for Disaster|Gordon Randall Garrett

That was all very well and good, but just what was the handbasket made of?
Occasion for Disaster|Gordon Randall Garrett
He told me the country was going to Rome in a handbasket, or something like that.
Occasion for Disaster|Gordon Randall Garrett
"Rome was always going to Hell in a handbasket, and finally it—" He paused.
Occasion for Disaster|Gordon Randall Garrett