basket case

basket case
   a destitute person or society incapable of self-reliance
   This is the container in which food might be distributed as an act of charity. It is used of a person, or of a nation, and also figuratively:
    The other part of him couldn't understand why a nurse in a nursing home should be so grief-stricken over the death... of an obvious basket case. (Peck, 1990 — the arms and legs of the person who died had been amputated)
    Poland, which is economically a basket case... (Daily Telegraph, February 1982)
    You cock teasers have turned millions... into a generation of sexual basket cases. (Styron, 1976)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • Basket Case — can mean:* Basket Case (film) , a 1982 horror comedy directed and written by Frank Henenlotter ** Basket Case 2 , the 1990 sequel to Basket Case ** , the 1992 final film in the Basket Case series * Basket Case (song) , a song by Green Day from… …   Wikipedia

  • Basket Case — Single par Green Day extrait de l’album Dookie Sortie 29 novembre 1994 Enregistrement 1993 Durée 3:01 Genre Punk rock …   Wikipédia en Français

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  • basket case — basket cases 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. [INFORMAL] Ten years ago Latin America was written off as a basket case. 2) N COUNT… …   English dictionary

  • basket case — (n.) 1919, American English, originally a reference to quadriplegics as a result of catastrophic wounds suffered in World War I (the military vehemently denied there were any such in its hospitals), from BASKET (Cf. basket) + CASE (Cf. case)… …   Etymology dictionary

  • basket case — If something is a basket case, it is so bad that it cannot be helped …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • basket case — n 1.) informal someone who you think is crazy = ↑nut case 2.) a country with many severe economic and social problems that are likely to continue for a long time …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • basket case — basket ,case noun count INFORMAL 1. ) an insulting word for someone who is unable to do anything because they are too nervous or upset: NERVOUS WRECK 2. ) a country or organization that has serious financial problems …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • basket case — ► NOUN informal ▪ a useless person or thing. ORIGIN originally US slang, denoting a soldier who had lost all four limbs …   English terms dictionary

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