It's the Word of the Day podcast for September 22nd.
Today's word is catch-22 spelled as catch hyphen with the numerals 2-2.
Catch-22 is a noun.
It typically refers to a difficult situation for which there is no easy or possible solution.
In the narrowest use of the term,
it refers to a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule.
Here's the word used in a sentence from the Liverpool Echo.
Liverpool is famed for its nightlife, but I'm getting the impression it could do with some help.
In December 2023, the Echo spoke to people in Liverpool's late-night economy,
and the prevailing view was that it had become a struggle.
Prices don't help.
Drinks and tickets are more expensive than they've ever been,
but venues are stuck in a catch-22 situation,
caught between having to cover huge operating costs and wanting to get people through the doors.
Catch-22 originated as the title of a 1961 novel by Joseph Heller.
Heller had originally planned to title his novel Catch-18,
but the publication of Leon Orris's Mila-18 persuaded him to change the number.
The Catch-22 in Catch-22 involves a mysterious Army Air Force's regulation,
which asserts that a man is considered mentally unsound
if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions,