Where does the expression “Catch-22” come from.?
absurd situation or its cause: a situation in which whatever outcome somebody desires is impossible to attain because the rules always work against it [Named for the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller] Cultural Note Catch-22, a novel (1961) by Joseph Heller. The title of this dark satire relates to the skewed military logic that entraps the protagonist, Yossarian, a pilot serving in Italy during World War II. He tries to get himself grounded by being pronounced insane, but is told that only an insane person would want to fly, and his desire not to fly proves that he is, in fact, sane, and so must continue to fly. The term Catch-22 eventually took on the following meanings of its own: “a situation or problem from which extrication is impossible because of built-in illogical rules and regulations,” “an absurd situation,” “a snag or catch,” and “a self-defeating course of action.
