were does the expression Catch 22 come from? fanx :-)?

Question

Im not sure if it's an idiom or not

Answer 1

Joseph Hellers Catch 22 novel where if u say u r crazy then u are sane enough to know ur crazy and if u r sane ur not crazy and unless u urself say u r crazy u r not crazy. this is called a Catch 22 situation

Answer 2

Origin is from Joseph Heller's novel of the same name, ok Catch-22 but that's being picky. It was written in the early 50's and some of it published in magazines. I think the book came out in late 50's early 60's and was a hit. The expression took off after first release of the book.

Although the usage has been skewed over the years from the original meaning in the book, but it's still a popular term.

Answer 3

The Joseph Heller book Catch 22 was about a fictional air squadron stationed in Italy during World War Two. Catch 22 was a military standard for sending troops home--if they wanted to go home they were clearly sane so they could not be sent home, and if they did not want to go home there was no reason to send them home. It was a very good book but I don't think the film was as good.

Answer 4

It is from Joseph Heller's Catch-22, a satirical antiwar novel.

"...the mysterious Catch-22: if Yossarian asks to be let out of his duties, he must be sane. Only a crazy man would want to continue to fly missions, but the only way Daneeka can ground him, according to Catch-22, is if he asks to be grounded — which would indicate his sanity. The circular reasoning of this "catch" is the central metaphor for the absurdity of war and the military bureaucracy."
http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=catch+22&gwp=13

Answer 5

Do you know I read about that somewhere? Quite a while ago, and I am really trying to remember. I have a feeling that it might have been something the author of the book catch 22 made up. in the book he explains that when soldiers were exhibiting signs of mental illness during the Vietnam war. They would have to see a Doctor if they told the doctor they were going mad the army's res ponce would be to say if they new they were mad then they can't be mad. because they were sane enough to know they were mad kind of thing. So basically it was a no win situation. It something to do with that book and the Vietnam war, and soldiers suffering the mental effects of combat.

Answer 6

is a term coined by Joseph Heller in his novel Catch-22, describing a paradox in a law, regulation or practice in which one is a victim regardless of the choice he makes

Answer 7

It's a novel of the same name. In it, a pilot faces a situation with equally unpleasant outcomes. I could go into a long, drawn out answer, but I'll let those who answer after me handle all that as they try to one-up my answer. Or you could do a quick Wikipedia search for the full explanation.

Answer 8

Fanx ai'nt what it used to be.....