number phrases

[nicole 5392]

the meaning of "catch-22"

[Sylday]

Assuming you really want to know, and this isn't some silly quiz - in Joseph Heller's book of the same name, a wartime pilot has flown so many dangerous missions that everyone thinks he would be crazy to fly any more. But if he asks to be grounded, then that shows he's aware of his own danger, which means he isn't crazy, so he has to keep on flying. According to the novel, that is Catch 22. Since then the expression has been extended to any situation where one rule (or piece of logic) collides head on with another rule. For example, strictly speaking a UK citizen doesn't need a passport to re-enter the UK after a trip abroad; but the Catch 22 is that you need a passport to prove you are a UK citizen.

[maxi29]

Sylday has given a very full answer. One note for trivia buffs is that Heller's working title was Catch-18 but changed it. So our language is sometimes built on the vagaries of chance.

[buttcheek23]

it is a lose-lose situation