basket case

Definition

Someone (especially a soldier) who has lost all four limbs.

Etymology

From basket + case, based on rumors during World War I that wounded soldiers were transported in baskets.

Example Sentences

• "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."
• "Her mind, at its worst, is in ways analogous to a basket-case who seethes with desires to move but has no limbs."
• "This country is a financial basket case, a country so broke that it should be a perfect warning to lenders."