The term 'basket case' originated from soldiers with quadruple amputations carried in baskets during WWI.
As heard by us
A casual phrase story that starts in World War I and stays lively.
Ridiculous History takes the phrase basket case and follows it back to a brutal World War I wound before landing on its modern meaning, someone whose life is coming apart. The result makes a familiar bit of slang feel sharper than it usually does.
Why you'd press play
Want the wartime origin story behind a phrase you already know?
Listen to the show on