Catch-22

Meaning

Noun

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

Related

Similar words

• doomed if you do, doomed if you don't
• no-win situation

Origin

• in his novel Catch-22, in which the main character feigns madness in order to avoid dangerous combat missions, but his desire to avoid them is taken to prove his sanity.