每日一詞standoff188（每日一詞catch-22是怎樣一種窘境）

2023-05-29 09:47:54 2

【釋義】

進退兩難的窘境；（因受互相衝突或互相依存的情況所掣肘而）無法擺脫的困境

a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions

【單詞小故事】

catch-22一詞源自約瑟夫·海勒於1961年出版的同名小說《第二十二條軍規》。（海勒原本打算將小說命名為Catch-18，但出版商Leon Uris's Mila 18說服他換掉了其中的數字）

書中的第二十二條軍規是這樣說的：一般來說，作戰飛行員是瘋狂的（因為在執行作戰任務時，他必須表現得瘋狂）。而軍隊又規定精神錯亂（前面提到的瘋狂）可以作為停飛的正當理由，因此飛行員僅要徵得上級同意後，就可以不執行飛行任務；但是如果他這麼去和上面說的話，他又是理智的（因為任何想退出作戰場的人都必須有理智的思維），之後他還得接著執行飛行任務。

也就是說，儘管軍隊規定作戰飛行員執行任務時不得不表現出來的瘋狂姿態可以作為申請停飛的理由，但是如此去申請的飛行員實際上又沒瘋（因為他發現並利用了這個「漏洞」想逃脫執行任務），上級不會同意他的申請，他只得繼續執行任務。

所以，Catch-22就成了「任何不合理、或迂迴不通、又或各種絕無可能的情況」的代名詞，並加入到英語單詞的大家庭中。

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 Uris's Mila 18 persuaded him to change the number.)

The novel's catch-22 was as follows: a combat pilot was crazy by definition (he would have to be crazy to fly combat missions) and since army regulations stipulated that insanity was justification for grounding, a pilot could avoid flight duty by simply asking, but if he asked, he was demonstrating his sanity (anyone who wanted to get out of combat must be sane) and had to keep flying. Catch-22 soon entered the language as the label for any irrational, circular, and impossible situation.

Joseph Heller & his novel Catch-22 （google.com）

【例句】

Following her graduation from college, Kelsey struggled with the classic job-seeker's catch-22: how to acquire work experience in her chosen field without already having a job in that field.

大學畢業後，凱爾西面臨著求職者普遍的兩難局面：如何在尚未從事該領域工作的情況下獲得她所選擇領域的工作經驗。

今天的每日一詞，請各位查收~

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