What does double edge sword and Catch 22 mean?

Question

Cool Mott. At first I thought you were trying to insult me.... LOL! This is great!

Answer 1

What a lousy earth! How many winners were losers, successes failures, and rich men poor men? How many wise guys were stupid? How many happy endings were unhappy endings? How many honest men were liars, brave men cowards, loyal men traitors, how many sainted men were corrupt, how many people in positions of trust had sold their souls to blackguards for petty cash, how many had never had souls? How many straight-and-narrow paths were crooked paths? How many best families were worst families and how many good people were bad people? When you added them all up and then subtracted, you might be left with only the children, and perhaps with an Albert Einstein and an old violinist or sculptor somewhere.

Heller once said, "Everyone in my book accuses everyone else of being crazy. Frankly, I think the whole society is nuts and the question is: What does a sane man do in an insane society?"

Robert M. Young, writing about Catch-22, answers, "For the most part, what they try to do is survive in any way they can."

A double edge sword can get you either way.

Answer 2

"Double edged sword" = sword sharpened on both sides, so it can cut coming and going. This was a radical improvement on sword technology. The current use of the term is to refer to something that cuts in both directions, thus, something that is equally able to harm friend as foe. Naturally, one always must be careful with new weapons technology.
"Catch 22" is the name of the most famous book by Joseph Heller. It is about a man in the Air Force who must fly 25 combat missions (standard in WWII). Naturally, he wants out, as the death rate was 25%--50%. He wants to get an insanity plea. The "catch" is that no one can get an insanity plea without asking for it; however, anyone who asks to get out of flying combat missions is obviously sane, and is immediately disqualified from being considered insane. The catch is that the two rules work together to APPEAR to offer a way out but really don't. Instead, they lock everyone out of any kind of mental help and laugh. There is a character who actually wants to fly these missions. he's obviously insane, but he hasn't asked, so no treatment.
Read the book. One of the airmen does get out of the war, thru a very funny trick.

Answer 3

A Great Expression. A catch is a hidden difficulty / meaning something like, 'fine print' Is this 'phrase' bugging the heck out of you? What is the Phrase 'Catch 22' all about? 1. It refers to a 'No-win Situation' 2. Whatever happens, you lose either way. 3. It is paradoxical like, 'Heads I win & tail, you lose' 4. It is the Title of Joseph Heller's book ( he wanted to call it 'Catch 18 & had to change his mind) & later, a Movie. . 5,In short, Catch 22 means : 'whatever happens, there will CERTAINLY be a BAD Outcome'! Along with this phrase, remember the Parody: 'Some men are born Mediocre; Some achieve mediocrity & some have mediocrity thrust upon them!' Is this what we call Bad Fate / karma? Q2: Why is such a situation called Catch 22? Joseph Heller tells of such a situation 'Catch 22' in his book. Read on: Quote:"Catch-22 from the title of Joseph Heller's 1961 novel. In widespread use only after release of 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".Unquote.

Answer 4

A double edged sword means that no matter which decision you make, there are bad consequences either way. A catch 22 is similar meaning that you get what you want, but that there is a "Catch" or special circumstance/obligation involved that isn't necessarily clear and that may not be in your best interests.

Answer 5

Catch 22 comes from WWII when an American plane went on a mission with 22 soldiers. The plane was hit and was leaking fuel, so much that they had neither enough gas to complete the mission, nor enough to get back from where they came from.
Basically, they we caught between a rock and a hard place and had nowhere to go except to meet their maker.
They were in a catch 22.

Answer 6

Heller's original title for his book was "Catch-18" but after he learned that Leon Uris' book, "Mila 18" was being published in the same year (1961), but a little sooner, Heller changed the title to "Catch-22."

Answer 7

Whatever is not as 'part, whole, equivalence, uniqueness, limit, link, sensation, influence, derivative, origin, condition, rule, intent, and fulfillment' is neither a double edge sword nor a catch 22.