Rate this phrase:5.0 / 1 vote

catch 22

A self-contradictory rule that prevents a desired outcome.

Etymology:

  • From the anti-war novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. In the novel a character learns that he can be exempted from flying aircraft bombing missions by reason of insanity. But to request that exemption shows sound reasoning, and therefore disqualifies one from the insanity exemption.
9 Views
“

For example, to qualify for a bank loan a person might be required to show they are financially solvent enough to not actually need one.

Collection   Edit    

Submitted by shawc1954 on February 05, 2024

Translation

Find a translation for the catch 22 phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to catch 22

catch aircatch itcatch heatcatch a tancatch as catch cancatch big aircatch firecatch a break!catch of the daycatch a coldcatch dustcatch hellcatch fliescatch napping

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this catch 22 phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this catch 22 definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "catch 22." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/catch-22_64145>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    You're preaching to the ________.
    A fans
    B choir
    C audience
    D orchestra

    Browse Phrases.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ