catch-22

What it means

A catch-22 is a frustrating situation in which the rules themselves trap you — you can't solve a problem because the only solution is blocked by the problem. It comes up often in bureaucracy, job hunting (no experience without a job, no job without experience), and policy debates where every option violates another requirement.

Examples

• It's a catch-22: you need experience to get hired, but no one will hire you without it.
• Trying to get a loan when you've never borrowed before is a real catch-22.
• The visa rules created a catch-22 for international students.
• I'm stuck in a catch-22 with my insurance and the hospital billing department.

Where it comes from

Coined by Joseph Heller in his 1961 novel 'Catch-22', where a fictional military regulation says pilots can be grounded for insanity, but requesting to be grounded proves you're sane enough to fly. The term entered general English within a decade.

Related idioms