CATCH-22

The expression “Catch-22” originates from a novel with this title by Joseph Heller (1961).

 This was originally given the title “Catch-18” but it was changed to “Catch-22” just before being published as it was discovered that Leon Uris was about to publish “Mila 18” [1].

 A Catch-22 is an impossible situation in which one cannot take one action before taking a second action, but the second action cannot be taken before taking the first.

 In the original novel, the main character, Yossarian, is a bomber pilot who wants to be relieved of dangerous combat missions in order to stay alive and tries to claim insanity so that he can be grounded. An Air Force ruling states that a man is insane if he willingly undertakes such missions; however, if Yossarian requests that he is relieved of them, he proves himself to be sane and will be forced to continue.

Examples of use:

 “Homeless people are getting stuck in a ‘Catch-22’ situation, where without a postal address they are denied access to public services and kept on the streets, the government has been warned.”

 “And herein lies the Catch 22: for women to succeed, they are expected to act more stereotypically masculine but those that do so are perceived badly and suffer negative consequences as a result.”

[1] Catch-22, Joseph Heller, Vintage Classics, 2004

Photo credit: Alfred T. Palmer