Idiom
Basket case
A basket case is a person too nervous, stressed or upset to cope, or a thing, such as a business, that barely works.
How people use it
People often use it about themselves, half joking: "I was a basket case before my driving test." It can also describe a failing company, economy or machine: "That old printer is a basket case." The usual verbs are be, become and turn into. It is informal, and it can sound unkind when said about someone who has real mental health problems, so use it with care. For a gentler choice, say someone is "a nervous wreck" or "really stressed."
Examples
- I was a total basket case the night before my wedding.
- After three flight delays, Sam was a basket case by the time he got home.
- Experts called the factory a basket case, but a new owner turned it around.
Where it comes from
The phrase began as American military slang around the end of World War I. It described a soldier so badly wounded, having lost both arms and legs, that he had to be carried. US Army officials publicly denied that any such cases existed. By the middle of the 1900s, the phrase had shifted to mean someone who cannot function because of nerves or stress, and later anything that is badly broken.
Check yourself
1. Maya says she was a basket case before her job interview. What does she mean?
Answer: She was extremely nervous. A basket case is someone too anxious or stressed to cope well.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: The team's finances were such a basket case that it nearly closed.. The idiom can describe something that barely works, like failing finances.
Word game fan? See every word hiding in BASKET.