{"id":10493,"date":"2022-11-16T22:55:37","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=10493"},"modified":"2022-11-16T22:55:37","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:55:37","slug":"basket-case-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/basket-case-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Basket Case \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did your friend do something crazy? You could call them a basket case<\/em><\/strong> to describe their behavior. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The expression \u201cbasket case\u201d<\/em> means someone wild or crazy.<\/u> It can refer to someone that\u2019s genuinely mentally ill or enjoys adopting a risk-taking approach to life<\/u>. A basket case<\/em> could refer to someone dealing with severe stress or anxiety <\/u>and who feels like they\u2019re going crazy.<\/p>\n

A \u201cbasket case\u201d<\/em> can also refer to someone that enjoys activities that seem outlandish or crazy to others.<\/u> A \u201cbasket case\u201d<\/em> might be someone who acts outside the normal paradigm<\/u> of what people consider \u201csane\u201d<\/em> behavior.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\"That guy is a basket case. You can't trust what he tells you. He's always doing crazy stuff, and his temperament is erratic.\"<\/p>\n

\"Mark is a basket case. He's mentally ill and needs help. We must sit down with him and tell him he needs to see a therapist.\"<\/p>\n

\"Are we going over to Tom's place? That guy is a basket case. He's fun to be around most of the time, but sometimes he scares me with his antics.\"<\/p>\n

\"There's no way I'm going with you to Carissa's place. That girl is a basket case. I'll never know how she expects to hold down a relationship.\"<\/p>\n

\"I always knew you were a basket case, and now you proved it to me. Let me out of here. I'm going now before someone gets hurt.\"<\/p>\n

\"If there was ever doubt you were a basket case, it's out of the window now. After last night, I'll never look at you again.\"<\/p>\n

\"That president is a real basket case. He wants the UN to create a no-fly zone over his country. That action would kick off World War III.\"<\/p>\n

\"These people are basket cases. They're all high on drugs and wandering around like zombies. I'm never going downtown again.\"<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Origin<\/h2>\n

The original use of \u201cbasket case\u201d didn\u2019t refer to someone that\u2019s crazy. The first use of the expression was to refer to a disabled person. The phrase comes from WWI, appearing in an article by the United States Surgeon General in March 1919, which reads as follows.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first definition, published in The Syracuse Herald, reads as follows.<\/p>\n

\u201cA soldier who has lost both arms and legs and therefore must be carried in a basket.\u201d<\/p>\n

The term fell out of favor after WWII. The modern use of the phrase to describe someone wild, unstable, or mentally ill appeared in the late 1970s, but there is no information on its first use in media or who coined the term.<\/p>\n