Sign in; Sign up; Question Dude. basket case synonyms, basket case pronunciation, basket case translation, English dictionary definition of basket case. Clearly, given the scale of the casualties in both wars, there must have been cases of multiple amputation. Her classmates looked at her like she was a complete basket case. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a+basket+case. For example: “After Elena’s boyfriend broke up with her, she was a basket case. A few years ago, the country was an economic basket case, but now things are different. Meaning of basket case. Information and translations of basket case in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. [informal] The country is an economic basket case with chronic unemployment and rampant crime. She's a basket case. In civilian usage the term was applied to an emotionally unstable person who is unable to cope. 2 : a person who is mentally incapacitated or worn out (as from nervous tension) also : one that is not … After that all-day meeting, I was practically a basket case. In its original meaning this term comes from the US military immediately following WWI. The popular image about this region a few years ago was that it was a basket case. Of American-English origin, this term initially denoted a soldier who had lost all four limbs during the First World War —as stated in the following from the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) of … If someone describes a country or organization as a basket case, they mean that its economy or finances are in a seriously bad state. What does the idiom “Basket Case” mean? Many of them also defined what was meant by 'basket case'; for example, this from the New York paper The Syracuse Herald, March 1919: "By 'basket case' is meant a soldier who has lost both arms and legs and therefore must be carried in a basket. Strangely, it was never used to describe an actual person but only in denial of any such servicemen existing. Synonym: emotional cripple She was a complete basket case the morning of her wedding. Copy to clipboard ; Details / edit; enwiki-01-2017-defs. Type: noun; Copy to clipboard; Details / edit; enwiki-01-2017-defs. Definition of basket case someone who can't function well due to anxiety/stress or something similar . 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 … a person or a thing that is not able to function properly ... Later this phrase lost some of its dark aura to mean something or someone who is unable to carry their own weight and is failing. A basket case (slang term) is one who's nerves are shot, their mental capacity to think and reason is diminished, they are not organized, always needing help, etc. Sie ist ein hoffnungsloser Fall. ket case noun-informal -a person or thing regarded as useless or unable to cope. Someone who is viewed as emotionally unstable and unable to function in normal situations. Define basket case. SMART … An infirm or failing person or thing - unable to function properly. An in-basket exercise is a hiring assessment tool used by companies to gauge how well applicants perform job-related tasks within a certain period of time. Surgeon General: "The Surgeon General of the Army ... denies ... that there is any foundation for the stories that have been circulated ... of the existence of 'basket cases' in our hospitals.". Arabic English (US) Near fluent Danish Dutch French (France) Question about English (US) What does basket case mean? (slang, potentially offensive) One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves, panic, stress or exhaustion. Basket case definition: If someone describes a country or organization as a basket case , they mean that its... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples If you describe someone as a basket case, you think that they are insane . It isn't recorded what term the U.S. 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. For example. Originally this referred to soldiers who had lost arms and legs and had to be carried by others. … Definition: So upset or stunned that one is unable to function; … 28 Dec 2016. A person or thing too impaired to function. What's the meaning of the phrase 'Basket case'? The expression evolved from a US slang term for a soldier who had lost all four limbs in action, and was thus unable to move independently. "It is a shocking, distressing and distracting image. hoffnungsloser Fall { noun masculine } in a bad condition. 2. countable noun. I’m sure they thought I was a complete basket case.’. It originated as being applied to people, soldiers in particular, who had lost limbs and could not function by themselves and had to be carried. 2. “The U.N. may become a more pathetic basket case than the old League of Nations after the Japanese nullified the decision on Manchuria.” In the early 1950s, the phrase came to mean “a person who is emotionally or mentally unable to cope, esp. Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, steel (someone or oneself) against (someone or something), the webmaster's page for free fun content, A Basic Citizen's Definitive Electronic Freedom Guide, A Battle Concerning Delightfully Exciting Fine Gems. basket case (basket cases plural ) 1 n-count If someone describes a country or organization as a basket case, they mean that its economy or finances are in a seriously bad state. A person or thing too impaired to function. basket case noun [C] (PERSON) informal. This term dates from World War I, when it denoted a soldier who had lost both arms and legs and had to be carried off the field in a basket or litter. A basketcase is often independent and isolationist, in other words, anti-social. Definition of basket case someone who can't function well due to anxiety/stress or something similar. basket case Meaning. Originally More recently it has been used to denounce a failing organisation or scheme and is less often applied to people. infirm or failing person or thing - unable to function properly. A basketcase is common word used to describe a social outcast in school. Today I found out how the phrase “basket case” came to mean “someone who is insane.” At first, “basket case” didn’t mean someone who was crazy. Definition: So upset or stunned that one is unable to function; in a hopeless condition. basket case. Enrich your … Today it is used still more loosely to describe an attack of nerves, as in “The mother of the bride was a basket case.”, In the article, we quoted Marvin as saying he purchased his rare 1911 Heider Model A as ", How you prepare a disabled M109A6 Paladin for towing may determine whether or not you're. this referred to soldiers who had lost arms and legs and had to be carried by others. Again, it comes from the U.S. military and again in the form of a denial from the Surgeon General. An If the unemployment rate doesn't decrease soon, the country is going to become a financial basket case. put all of (one's) eggs in one basket. a container made of interwoven strips of pliable materials, such as cane, straw, thin wood, or plastic, and often carried by means of a handle or handles Also called: basketful the amount a basket will hold … In May 1944, in Yank, the Army Weekly, the then Surgeon General, Major General Norman T. Kirk, said: "... there is nothing to rumors of so-called 'basket cases' - cases of men with both legs and both arms amputated.". Definition of basket case in the Definitions.net dictionary. Definitions include: any easy or useless college course or field of study. "By 'basket case' is meant a soldier who has lost both arms and legs and therefore must be carried in a basket. 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