basket case

noun

, Slang.

1. Offensive. a person who has had all four limbs amputated.
2. a person who is helpless or incapable of functioning normally, especially due to overwhelming stress, anxiety, or the like.
3. anything that is impaired or incapable of functioning:

   Right after the war the conquered nation was considered an economic basket case.

basket case

noun

1. a person who is suffering from extreme nervous strain; nervous wreck
2. taboo.
   a person who has had both arms and both legs amputated
3. 1. someone or something that is incapable of functioning normally
   2. ( as modifier )

      a basket-case economy

Sensitive Note

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of basket case¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

If not for the writing and singing of songs, she might very well be a basket case.

From The Daily Beast

So is Phoenix finally ready to drop the basket-case act and play nice in Hollywood?

From The Daily Beast

To hear him tell it, Phoenix is at peace with coming off like a wild, unhinged basket case for the past few years.

From The Daily Beast

After years of the party acting like a political basket case prone to hysterical psychodrama, Sunday's vote was itself a triumph.

From The Daily Beast

Greece remains a fiscal basket case, as well as a warning sign.

From The Daily Beast

Poor Otto ended up a basket case, just in time to have the damned stuff start all over again at the stumps of his arms and legs.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• defenseless
• destitute
• forlorn
• impotent
• paralyzed
• powerless
• unable
• unprotected
• vulnerable
• weak