“What’s the dilemma?”
That phrase may be thrown about a little too frequently, for dilemma isn’t a mere synonym for problem. A dilemma is a situation for which there are two or more alternatives, none of which are particularly good ones. A Catch-22 is the mother of all dilemmas. According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, a Catch-22 is:
A situation in which there is no good solution or resolution possible because of the way in which the factors of the solution relate to each other
And according to Merriam-Webster Online, catch-22 (notice the lowercase “c”) is:
a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule (the show-business catch–22—no work unless you have an agent, no agent unless you’ve worked)
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I’ve yet to read Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22,” the 1961 novel that gave birth to the phrase. It’s on my list (it’s also No. 7 on the New York Times’ 100 best novels list, FYI), along with Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” (I know!), Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” (I know! I know!), Robert Pirsig’s “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” (I know, already!) and Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” (oh, come on, that’s taking things too far — you don’t really believe that I’ve never read that, do you? Of course I have, time after time!).
That was fun.
Happy trails!
SAK