What does the phrase Catch 21 mean?

Answer 1

Catch 21 is a situation that you cannot resolve

You can;t get a job until you have experience, but you can;t get the experience until you have a job

Answer 2

What Does Catch 21 Mean

Answer 3

Catch 22 is, among other things, a gereral critique of bureaucratic operation and reasoning. As a result of its specific use in the book, Catch 22, the phrase has come into common use to mean a double blind of any type. Whitin the book, catch 22 is introduced as a military rule, the self-contradictory circular logic of which, for exanple, prevents anyone from avoiding combat missions. Catch 22 is a 1962 novel by the American author Joseph Heller. It was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 1970. The Modern Library ranked Catch 22 as number 7 on its list of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.

Answer 4

First of all, the phrase is "Catch-22" from the novel of the same name by Joseph Heller. Several of the answers here are better than others. The problem with several of them is that they are simply describing what is known as a "dilemma." A dilemma is a situation in which there are no good answers (or two equally good answers, but if you pick one you lose the opportunity for the other). In the negative sense, it's usually expressed as "Damned if you do, damned if you don't."

But Heller already knew about dilemmas. He is talking about a specifically different situation. The pertinent quotation from the book: "There 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."

Unlike a dilemma, there is really no choice to be made, even if you are willing to suffer the consequences. You are simply "caught" by a situation from which there is NO way out.

Answer 5

Catch 21 is a catch phrase for any unfavorable, unwelcome result of some action or inaction. Same as catch 22, it probably derives from a book and/or movie.

Answer 6

Catch-22, from the novel of the same name by Joseph Heller. A condition in which the system is set up to thwart you at every turn. The example in the book was that fighter pilots could be relieved of their dangerous duty by reporting themselves to their superiors as mentally ill and unft to fly. The "catch-22", though, was that a flyer reporting himself as unfit to fly was judged to be making a sane and logical decision, therefore he could not be mentally ill and had to be returned to duty.

Answer 7

Catch 22, It means that the list of problems or catches is ongoing.

Answer 8

Catch 21? Never heard of this one...I've heard of Catch 22 though... that's when you're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't.

Sorry if I'm not answering your question.

Answer 9

It's Catch 22 and...There are various people almost getting it right. The guy says he's crazy to get out of flying dangerous missions in the war. The bureaucracy says if you know it's dangerous, you're sane...so you have to fly the missions. If you were crazy, you wouldn't have to fly. But if you want to get out of flying the missions, you're clearly sane.

Answer 10

You're one out. It's Catch 22.
Like when you can't get a job unless you've had experience, but you can't get experience unless you get a job.