Have You Ever Heard Of Some One Being Called A "Basket Case?"

well I have and I always thought it meant some one who was mad, but it appears that is not the case, it is an American term born in 1944 in US military hospitals to describe soldiers who had no arms or legs, here are some other words and there original meanings, CHIN CHIN: Used when you clink drinks. This first came from the Chinese salutation Tsing Tsing and it was first referred to in Britain in 1795 by British traveller Michael Symes. CACK-HANDED: Clumsy. This comes from central Northamptonshire just 50 years ago and was the word to describe left-handed people. JACK THE LAD: The term for a cheeky, crafty young lad, who often makes money through crime. It comes from a famous 18th Century robber called Jack Sheppard — also known as Gentleman Jack — who was a popular but notorious character in London. KICKING THE BUCKET: In Norfolk the beam on which a pig is suspended after it has been slaughtered is called a bucket. The theory goes that as the pig was hung from the beam it would often kick it in its death spasms. Other theories have suggested a hangman’s bucket that is kicked away from the condemned person after the noose is fixed, all of the above and more can be found in Kick The Bucket And Swing The Cat: English Words And Phrases, And Their Curious Origins, by Alex Games (BBC Books,£9.99).