Meanings
plural Kobayashi Marus
- informalA scenario with no positive or favourable outcome; a no-win situation.
Christmas is the Kobayashi Maru of holidays. It is unwinnable.
2010, April Winchell, Regretsy: Where DIY Meets WTF, page 1212 more examples
Martin said, “Gwen, do you understand that there’s no right answer to that? You've asked me the Kobayashi Maru of questions. There’s no possible way to answer that won't make you mad.”
2015, Scott Meyer, An Unwelcome Quest, page 265“You might not be able to win,” I said. “It may be the Kobayashi Maru of seating arrangements.”
2016, Hillary Manton Lodge, Together at the Table, page 81
Origin
From the fictional Kobayashi Maru test, first introduced in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a training exercise in which Starfleet cadets face an intentionally unwinnable scenario as a test of character. The test involves the rescue of an eponymous vessel, named by Star Trek II screenwriter Jack B. Sowards after his neighbours, from the Japanese family name Kobayashi and maru (a suffix of Japanese ship names).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Kobayashi Maru. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kobayashi%20Maru
“Kobayashi Maru.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kobayashi%20Maru. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Kobayashi Maru,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kobayashi%20Maru.
Source: Kobayashi Maru on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.