What does it mean when someone calls you a basket case?

1a informal : a person who is functionally incapacitated from extreme nervousness, emotional distress, mental or physical overwork, etc. I was so worried about losing my job that I was a complete basket case.

Does basket case mean crazy?

Today we use the phrase “basket case” to refer to people who are unable to function in a way that society deems normal. The phrase is also used as a synonym for someone who is considered crazy or insane.

What does basket case mean in medical terms?

Also found in: Dictionary, Acronyms, Idioms, Wikipedia. Slang for a patient with a dread disease or terminal illness; it now usually refers to one with a hopeless psychological condition, but was first used to refer to physical injuries, specifically as a macbre term quadruple amputees during World War I.

Where does the term basket case?

The term originated in America after the First World War, indicating a soldier missing both his arms and legs who needed to be literally carried around in a litter or “basket”, though there are no records of any soldiers being carried in baskets.

What is the history of the term Basket Case?

The term basket case denotes someone, or something, that is incapable of functioning normally. 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 Saturday 18th January 1919:

What is a “basket case”?

Definition of basket case 1 : a person who has all four limbs amputated 2 : a person who is mentally incapacitated or worn out (as from nervous tension) also : one that is not functioning well or is in a run-down condition an economic basket case

What does the idiom Basket Case mean?

“Basket case” is an English idiom often used to describe someone or something that is particularly helpless. Although it was originally associated with a physical connotation, the phrase has expanded in use to define anyone who is in a precarious mental state. In addition, the phrase can be applied to organizations…