The Dean of "Words and Meanings" William Safire wrote
about the analogy in his 1990 column, which traces the phrase "Hell In A
Handbasket" as it was not always defined in the usual sense, as referring
to "wreck and ruin.
My research indicates the words "hell" and
"handbasket" as words needing a definition not a meaning, the noun "hell"
is the worst place, usually connected to the afterworld where kettles of boiling
water are bubbling with those who were so despised due to their deeds when they
were living.
However, the definition of the word "handbasket" is defined
as to the "noun" in the Merriam Webster Dictionary as well as analogous
to the phrase "hell in a handbasket" which is an analogy to "wreck
and ruin," the use of the words "hell" and
"handbasket" appear in a sentence as a noun.
The great William Safire's 1990 column "Words And
Meanings" in The New York Times Magazine wherein he delved into an entertaining overview
of the "handbasket" analogy, attaches something more than a
grammatical to the words "hell" and "handbasket."
Here's one more fact, the words "hell" and
"handbasket" are still defined as nouns and with meanings as analogous
to their origin, which in itself is a pleasant surprise in this world where
words and meanings can be shifted to a partisan purpose for those with a
certain POV, I say, let's cheer for the words "hell" and
"handbasket," because, these are words that even in this 21st
century can be used as originally intended.
