Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
from the title of Joseph Heller's 1961 novel. In widespread use only after release of the movie based on the book in 1970. The "catch" is that a bomber pilot is insane if he flies combat missions without asking to be relieved from duty, and is thus eligible to be relieved from duty. But if he asks to be relieved from duty, that means he's sane and has to keep flying.\nThere was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.\n
"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.\nSee catch (n.).
Wiktionary
n. (alternative case form of Catch-22 English)
Wikipedia
Catch-22 is a satirical novel by the American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. It is frequently cited as one of the greatest literary works of the twentieth century. It uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person omniscient narration, describing events from the points of view of different characters. The separate storylines are out of sequence so that the timeline develops along with the plot.
The novel is set during World War II, from 1942 to 1944. It mainly follows the life of Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier. Most of the events in the book occur while the fictional 256th Squadron is based on the island of Pianosa, in the Mediterranean Sea, west of Italy. The novel looks into the experiences of Yossarian and the other airmen in the camp, who attempt to maintain their sanity while fulfilling their service requirements so that they may return home.
The novel's title refers to a plot device that is repeatedly invoked in the story. Catch-22 starts as a set of paradoxical requirements whereby airmen mentally unfit to fly did not have to do so, but could not actually be excused. By the end of the novel it is invoked as the explanation for many unreasonable restrictions. The phrase "Catch-22" has since entered the English language, referring to a type of unsolvable logic puzzle sometimes called a double bind. According to the novel, people who were crazy were not obliged to fly missions; but anyone who applied to stop flying was showing a rational concern for his safety and, therefore, was sane.
Catch-22 is a post-modernist satirical novel by Joseph Heller published in 1961.
Catch-22 or CATCH-22 may also refer to:
- 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, a genetic disorder also known as CATCH-22
- Catch 22 (band), a ska-punk band from New Jersey
- Catch22 (charity), a UK young people's charity
- Catch-22 (film), the 1970 film adaptation of the novel Catch-22
- Catch 22 (Hypocrisy album), by the band Hypocrisy
- Catch-22 (logic), a type of logical conundrum illustrated by situations in the novel Catch-22
- "Catch-22" (Lost), an episode of TV series Lost
- Catch-22 (play), the 1971 Broadway adaptation of the novel Catch-22
- Catch 22 (Tinchy Stryder album), the debut album by Tinchy Stryder
A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules. An example would be:
To get a job, you need to have a few years of experience. But in order to gain experience, you need to get a job first.Catch-22s often result from rules, regulations, or procedures that an individual is subject to but has no control over because to fight the rule is to accept it. Another example is a situation in which someone is in need of something that can only be had by not being in need of it. (A bank will never issue someone a loan if they need the money.) One connotation of the term is that the creators of the "catch-22" have created arbitrary rules in order to justify and conceal their own abuse of power.
"Catch-22" is the 17th episode of the third season of Lost, and the 66th episode overall. It was aired in the United States on April 18, 2007, on ABC. The episode was written by Jeff Pinkner and Brian K. Vaughan, and directed by Stephen Williams. The character of Desmond Hume ( Henry Ian Cusick) is featured in the episode's flashbacks.
Catch-22 is a satirical, historical fiction, theatre production by the American author Joseph Heller, first produced in 1971 and based on his novel of the same name.
Catch-22 is an iOS game developed by Mango Down and released on September 25, 2012.
Catch-22 is a 1970 American satirical black comedy-drama war film adapted from the novel of the same name by Joseph Heller. In creating a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti- war novel set at a fictional World War II Mediterranean base, director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Buck Henry (also in the cast) worked on the film script for two years, converting Heller's complex novel to the medium of film.
The cast included Alan Arkin, Bob Balaban, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Italian actress Olimpia Carlisi, French comedian Marcel Dalio, Art Garfunkel (his acting debut), Jack Gilford, Charles Grodin, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, and Orson Welles.
Usage examples of "catch-22".
It was the kind of catch-22 that the defense attorneys felt they’d been dealing with since the case began.
The biggest problem with a coup, however, is a catch-22: especially because of the size of Saddam's security forces, a coup will require a large number of people to have any chance of success, but the more people who are involved, the more likely it will be betrayed to the Mukhabbarat.