Daily English Lesson

"catch-22"

I have sacrificed real life to be a celebrity and to give this art to people. It’s great, but it’s definitely a catch-22.”

- Rapper Kanye West on the challenges of being rich and famous.

Meaning

a problem with no good solution; when you need to have done something already in order to do it

Use

Poor Kanye West. It’s so hard being a celebrity. He has to drive all those fancy cars, wear all those expensive clothes, travel all over the world…

Hmm…that doesn’t seem so bad. But Kanye says that being a famous musician means he can’t have a normal, “real” life. At the same time, if he wanted a normal life, he’d have to sacrifice his music. He’s stuck in a no-win situation, a catch-22.

One meaning of the verb “to catch” is to trick or trap. So a catch-22 is a special kind of trap. One that involves a problem in your life that doesn’t have a simple, clear solution.

More often than not, a catch-22 refers to a situation in which it’s impossible to get the things without having them. Applying for jobs can be a catch-22. You can’t get a job without experience, but you can’t get experience without getting a job.

Joseph Heller invented the term catch-22 in his novel of the same name. The story is about about World War II soldiers who encounter frustrating situations. For instance, any soldier who is a crazy doesn’t have to fight. All you have to do is ask. But if you’re sane enough to ask, you’re considered sane enough to fight.

Examples

“The comedian Groucho Marx gave a perfect example of a catch-22 when he coined the famous phrase, “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member!””

“Trying to find work when you’re young is a catch-22. You can’t get hired for a job without experience, but you can’t get experience unless you have a job!”