Catch-22

Anita: I am horrible so no one wants to be friends with me.

Bunny: I am willing to be friends with you.

Anita: Anyone who is willing to be friends with me must be crazy. Sorry, I can’t befriend a crazy person. Now, this is a Catch-22 situation.

Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller. The novel is set during the later stages of World War II. The novel follows Yossarian, a B-25 pilot and a number of other characters who come in contact with him. In this novel the term Catch -22, describes a paradox in rules, regulations, procedures, or situations in which one has knowledge of being or becoming a victim but has no control over it occurring. Catch-22, the book, is a general critique of bureaucratic operation and reasoning. Though Catch 22 is a military rule in the book, its application is so unique and yet, so common that it caught on like wild fire.

Today, the phrase “Catch-22” has a common idiomatic usage meaning “a no-win situation”. A situation in which a desired outcome or solution is impossible to attain because of a set of inherently illogical rules or regulations. Often misapplied to any problematic or unwelcome situation, a Catch -22 is when there is more than ONE option BUT all go against you! “Heads I win and tails you lose” sums it up.