'Crushing' ?

"The phrase has come under considerable criticism in the legal profession in both American and British courts. Judges have called it a "freakish fad," an "accuracy-destroying symbol," and "meaningless."  The Wisconsin Supreme Court referred to it as "that befuddling, nameless thing, that Janus-faced verbal monstrosity."  Perhaps most crushing of all, the Kentucky Supreme Court said it was a "much-condemned conjunctive-disjunctive crutch of sloppy thinkers."  ....."

What 's the meaning of this crushing here?  I looked up in the Dictionary.com.  The closest meaning I could find (I think) is : a decisive or critical moment or situation.

Does it also have a meaning of "unbearable, excessive, too much" ?

Is crushing a slang? informal?

..appreciate you help...


and what does that crutch mean?   "it was a much-condemned conjunctive-disjunctive crutch of sloppy thinkers"


I couldn't get the context of the word. and various explanations in the dictionary threw me off.

1. means walking aid?     It was a walking aid of sloppy thinkers. (means these sloopy thinkers were crippled, inaccurate, unhealthy thinkers?)
2. means same as crotch?   It was kind of like an embarrasing mistakes of sloppy thinkers.  (mean to be an insult?)  I might be way off.

Something they "lean" on figuratively.