Show Summary Details
Overview
catch-22
Quick Reference
A dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions. The term comes from the title of a novel (1961) by Joseph Heller, in which the main character feigns madness in order to avoid dangerous combat missions, but finds that Catch-22 specifies that a concern for one's own safety amid real and immediate dangers is taken to indicate a rational mind.
