basket case

noun4

1. •
   (informal) An institution or country in a bad condition or difficult situation (economically, financially or otherwise).

   • This country is a financial basket case, a country so broke that it should be a perfect warning to lenders.
   • Some countries are breadbaskets, others basket cases.
2. •
   (informal) One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves, panic, stress or exhaustion; someone considered mentally unstable.

   • She was a complete basket case the morning of her wedding.
3. •
   (informal, offensive) Someone (especially a soldier) who has lost all four limbs.

   • 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. — 1919
4. •
   (informal) An item in a disassembled state that is brought to be repaired.