catch-22

plural catch-22s

1. Alternative letter-case form of Catch-22.

   Research on Esperanto is accompanied by a dilemma that has the character of a catch-22 situation.

   2022, Sabine Fiedler, Cyril Robert Brosch, “Methods and data” (chapter 5), in Esperanto – Lingua Franca and Language Community, John Benjamins Publishing Company, →DOI, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, page 21

   1 more example

   Passengers may find themselves in a catch-22 situation, unable to buy a ticket for any number of reasons, ranging from an out-of-order ticket vending machine to a lengthy queue to use one, and yet then fall foul of the penalty fare regime.

   2023 July 26, Christian Wolmar, “Closing ticket offices to lead to 'catch-22' for passengers”, in RAIL, number 988, page 42

plural Catch-22s · alternative catch-22

1. idiomaticA difficult situation from which there is no escape because it involves mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.

   For us it’s been a real Catch-22: when we have the time to take a vacation, we don’t have enough money, and when we have enough money, we don’t have the time.

   4 more examples

   Herein lies my personal “Catch 22”; the choice between three hours sleep and some discomfort or six hours sleep and real pain. Usually I choose the lesser evil of insomnia because in addition to the pain at 6am, I am incapacitated by the hangover from the sedative.

   1988, E[dward] J[ames] Moran Campbell, Not Always on the Level, [London]: British Medical Journal, →ISBN, page 194

   Overall, the subgrouping issue in S[ino-]T[ibetan] studies is plagued by a familiar Catch-22. Until a more complete reconstruction of P[roto-]S[ino-]T[ibetan] exists, it is difficult to accurately identify shared innovations. Yet, without a clear subgrouping, it is difficult to properly weight and evaluate data from the daughter languages in order to refine PST reconstructions.

   2008, Zev Handel, “What is Sino-Tibetan? Snapshot of a Field and a Language Family in Flux”, in Language and Linguistics Compass, volume 2, number 3, →DOI, pages 422-441

   That can make A.I. feel like something of a Catch-22 for workers: If the technology succeeds in reshaping the economy, they could lose their jobs. If it fails to live up to the hype, their retirement savings could evaporate.

   2026 June 13, Ben Casselman, “Wages Are Falling. Wealth Is Surging. No Wonder Americans Are Unhappy.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   In his statement, he said he wanted to continue the tour, to avoid letting down fans and the crew who rely on his concerts to make a living. If he had threatened to pull the plug on the shows, he could have framed it as a protest for free speech - although that would still inevitably have been interpreted as an endorsement of Macklemore's statements. So, Sheeran stumbled into a Catch 22 situation. He was damned either way.

   2026 September 16, Mark Savage, BBC

   Synonyms: dilemma, Hobson's choice, Morton's fork, no-win situation, quandary, Sophie's choice