to hell in a handbasket
2019.09.25
Meaning:
You might know that ‘hell’ means ‘the opposite of heaven; the place where bad people go after they die’. The traditional European idea of hell is a place full of fire and evil. Imagine traveling there in a basket… the basket would burn, and not protect you. So when we say ‘we are going to hell in a handbasket’ it means ‘we are going to fail very very, very badly…and there’s nothing we can do.’ This is a very, very negative sentence. We say this when we have lost hope. For example, ‘I’ve lost my job, I’ve lost my boyfriend… I feel like my life is going to hell in a handbasket.’
Example:
A: Did you see that kid on the news, talking about the environment?
B: Yes, she thinks the world is going to hell in a handbasket… I think she’s being melodramatic.
A: Really? I think she’s exactly right!
Talking Point(s):
Have you ever felt like things were going to hell in a handbasket? What do you do?
大人からの英会話getgo 西船橋・荻窪・津田沼・本八幡