handbasket

American  

[hand-bas-kit, -bah-skit] / ˈhændˌbæs kɪt, -ˌbɑ skɪt /

noun

1. a small basket with a handle for carrying by hand.

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idioms

1. go to hell in a handbasket, to degenerate quickly and decisively.

   The economy has gone to hell in a handbasket.

Etymology

Origin of handbasket

First recorded in 1485–95; hand + basket

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

handbasket

This is, as best we can tell, what hell looks like from a handbasket.

From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026

Its bestselling handbasket tote requires a larger protective box to preserve its structured wicker shape.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026

“Givers of Death” belongs to a fascinating subgenre: The world has gone to hell in a handbasket, so what do you hold on to?

From New York Times ● Dec. 22, 2022

The prophecy might terrify if this trip to hell — in a handbasket, no less — wasn’t such a slice of comedic heaven.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2019

The world, he told himself, was going to hell in a handbasket.

From Occasion for Disaster by Garrett, Randall