TO HELL IN A HAND BASKET

Posted by William Karl Thomas on September 03, 2001

In Reply to: TO HELL IN A HAND BASKET posted by Susan on August 17, 2001

: : NEED TO FIND ORIGINATION OF 'TO HELL IN A HAND BASKET'- Seems this is a difficult task. I think it has to do with Dorothy's dog, Todo in the Wizard of Oz, being carried off in the basket on the school teacher's bike.
My grandmother was born in the 1860's and used the term "going to hell in a handbasket" long before "The Wizard of Oz" became a film. I don't know the publishing date of the original book, but I think the phrase pre-dates it.