What's a "catch twenty-two"?

Question

I've always heard the expression, "It's a catch twenty-two", but never really knew what it meant. I think it means a lose-lose situation...

Answer 1

Joseph Heller (1923- ) http://www.levity.com/corduroy/images/heller.gif" (he is cute!) I have read his books and it is worth it just to know how men think.)

"What else is there?" --from Catch-22

The American novelist and dramatist Joseph Heller, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., May 1, 1923, began his writing career as the author of short stories but won immediate acclaim with Catch-22 (1961; film, 1970).
A protest novel underscored with dark humor, Catch-22 satirizes the horrors of war and the power of modern society, especially bureaucratic institutions, to destroy the human spirit.

"Closing Time" the sequel to Catch-22 written in 1994.

Heller's second novel, Something Happened (1974), an expose of the capacity of the business world to crush the individual, is a pessimistic statement about the effects of prosperity on the human condition. We Bombed in New Haven, a play produced on Broadway in 1967, is a tragicomedy similar in theme and mood to Catch-22. Good as Gold (1979) involves a humorous portrayal of Jewish family life and a satire of national politics, including attacks on real people such as Henry Kissinger. God Knows (1984) is a humorous retelling and analysis of the biblical account of King David.

Heller's works are characterized by a satirical sense of the absurd, speaking out against the military-industrial complex and those organized institutions which seem to manipulate people's lives in the name of reason or morality. Among his later works are the novels Poetics (1987) and Picture This (1988). No Laughing Matter (1966, with Speed Vogel) is a chronicle of Heller's recovery from Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Bibliography: Merrill, Robert, Joseph Heller (1987); Nagel, James, Critical Essays on Joseph Heller (1984).

Answer 2

Catch Twenty Two

Answer 3

It's a term used in the book "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller. In the book, one of the aviators wants to stop flying into combat situations, and tells the psychiatrist that he's too scared to fly. The psychiatrist tells him that's indicative of being sane, not crazy, so he can't get out by claiming to be crazy. If the aviator says he loves to fly into combat, that doesn't make him crazy, it just makes him a courageous aviator. So, a "Catch-22" says that either way, he's still going to be flying into combat.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What's a "catch twenty-two"?
I've always heard the expression, "It's a catch twenty-two", but never really knew what it meant. I think it means a lose-lose situation...

Answer 5

A "catch 22" is a situtation where you have two possible choices, either of which will have negative ramifications for you.

Answer 6

If you describe a situation as a Catch-22, you mean it is an impossible situation because you cannot do one thing until you do another thing, but you cannot do the second thing until you do the first thing.

Answer 7

Generally it does mean that.

Like if it rains, you'll get wet.

Like cause and effect. If you do this, that will happen.

Also like, work to live, or live to work.

Answer 8

You are correct - it is used to describe a "no win" situation. This site explains it.

Answer 9

It is a lose lose situation, Damned if you do, and damned if you don't.