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

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

“If you lead a campaign that says the city is going to hell in a handbasket, and everything is awful in Los Angeles, then that just builds on the despair and the fear,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2022

"There's a sense that everything going to hell in a handbasket, when it really isn't" she told Fox News.

From Fox News • Dec. 23, 2021

"Rome was always going to Hell in a handbasket, and finally it—" He paused.

From Occasion for Disaster by Garrett, Randall