the.com/crutch
a wooden excuse to lean on, doubling as the body's most honest confession of need
means A support, originally a wooden staff fitting under the arm, used to help someone walk when a leg or foot can't bear weight — and, by extension, anything one leans on too heavily to avoid coping alone.
from From Old English 'crycc,' a staff or stick — a word with sturdy Germanic cousins like Dutch 'kruk' and German 'Krücke,' all sharing a sense of something bent or hooked. The root idea seems to be the crook of the thing, the bent top that tucks under the arm or fits the hand. The figurative 'crutch,' meaning a habit or person you depend on too much, is a much later flowering of the same image: a prop for the limping spirit rather than the limping leg.
- ancient origin
- Egyptians used them over 4,000 years ago
- underarm myth
- leaning on the armpit can damage nerves there
- linguistic leap
- means any emotional support you can't quit
- forearm upgrade
- crutches now mostly rest on wrists, not pits
lofstrand crutch — forearm crutch with curved arm piece, invented by albert lofstrand jr. in 1945, standard assistive device
axillary crutch — underarm crutch used since 1917, fits under armpit, most common hospital crutch type