handbasket

[ hand-bas-kit, -bah-skit ]

/ ˈhændˌbæs kɪt, -ˌbɑ skɪt /

a small basket with a handle for carrying by hand.

go to hell in a handbasket, to degenerate quickly and decisively: The economy has gone to hell in a handbasket.

Origin of handbasket

First recorded in 1485–95; hand + basket

You think the country has gone to “hell in a handbasket” under the current administration and party leadership.

Flushing Money Down the Tea Party Toilet |Tom Dougherty |August 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Yes, it can be argued the country has gone to “hell in a handbasket.”

Flushing Money Down the Tea Party Toilet |Tom Dougherty |August 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
This is not a lament that things have gone to hell in a handbasket since some mythical golden era.

Mike Wallace and the Passing of an Era |Howard Kurtz |April 9, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
The world, he told himself, was going to hell in a handbasket.

Occasion for Disaster |Gordon Randall Garrett

That was all very well and good, but just what was the handbasket made of?

Occasion for Disaster |Gordon Randall Garrett
He told me the country was going to Rome in a handbasket, or something like that.

Occasion for Disaster |Gordon Randall Garrett
"Rome was always going to Hell in a handbasket, and finally it—" He paused.

Occasion for Disaster |Gordon Randall Garrett