Definition of "crutch" []

• A staff or support used by the physically injured or disabled as an aid in walking, usually designed to fit under the armpit and often used in pairs. (noun)
• A forked leg rest on a sidesaddle. (noun)
• A device used for assistance or support; a prop: a mnemonic crutch. (noun)
• The crotch of a person or an animal. (noun)
• A forked device or part. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Gutter crutch (‘arthritis crutch’) For children who, due to elbow pain or stiffness, cannot use straight-arm crutches."
• "The roughly $4.6 billion, three-year tax hike was then billed as a necessary but short-term crutch as the state hobbled through a recession."
• "The answer is not sleep medication, or psychotropic medication, as the medications themselves are toxic to the organs, have side-effects, are often addictive and may be a short-term crutch that masks or worsens a long-term health problem."