撐不住的人
把那個「散掉、要被抬著」的畫面放在一個人身上，講的是他現在沒辦法自己運作。
noun · B2
Someone who cannot cope at the moment: so worried, nervous or worn out that they can hardly think or act. It is also used about someone you think is crazy.
崩潰的人
核心畫面
You can picture something that no longer holds its own shape. It has come apart, so it cannot stand, walk or work by itself, and whatever is left has to be gathered up and carried in a basket by somebody else. Every use of this phrase points at that state: not damaged, but no longer holding together, and now dependent on others.
可以想成一個已經散掉、撐不出原本形狀的東西。它自己站不住、走不動，剩下的部分得由別人收起來、用籃子抬著走。這個詞的每…更多收起
可以想成一個已經散掉、撐不出原本形狀的東西。它自己站不住、走不動，剩下的部分得由別人收起來、用籃子抬著走。這個詞的每個用法都指著同一個狀態：不是「有點壞」，而是「整個不成形了，現在要靠別人撐著」。From the word’s history
The parts are basket + case. The source records a First World War rumour behind the phrase: soldiers hurt so badly that they had to be carried away in baskets. The same picture of a body that can no longer carry itself is what later got attached to people under stress and to countries that cannot keep themselves going.
這個詞由 basket（籃子）加 case（案例、病例）組成。辭源資料記下的來路是一次大戰時期的傳言：傷重到必須被抬著送走的士兵。後來這個「自己撐不住、要被抬著」的畫面，被移到壓力下的人身上，也被移到撐不住的國家身上。
Wiktionary entry for basket case (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:511182105:10040)
Three branches
撐不住的地方
同一個畫面換了尺度：垮掉的不是一個人，是一整個地方的經濟和社會。
noun · C1
A country whose money problems and social problems are so bad, and look likely to last so long, that it cannot keep itself going without help from outside.
經濟崩潰的國家
散成零件的東西
回到最實體的層次：真的散成一堆零件，要裝在籃子裡搬來。
noun · C1
An older informal use: a machine or vehicle that has been taken to pieces, or is in such poor condition that the parts arrive in a box and the whole thing has to be built again before it will work.
拆散待修的老機器