News2 mins ago
Catch-22
5 Answers
Which came first, the book or the saying?
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by Waterwolf. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Ah, and I heard it was originally Catch-17, but Stalag17 was just about to be released, so the publisher said, good idea for a title, but pick another number.
So regardless of what the original number was, the fact that Heller picked 22 pretty well makes it obvious that he originated the expression, and the military and others quickly picked it up. Heller, like Professor Peter of the Peter Principle, had discovered a natural law.