Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.
It's Feifei here…
Rob: …and hello, it's Rob here too. Oh Feifei,
why the glum face?
Feifei: I didn't get it.
Rob: Get it?
Feifei: I didn't get the job.
Rob: Oh yes yes, the job – you went for a new
job – one you really really wanted. One
that you said would be perfect for you.
Feifei: Clearly I am not. Look at this
rejection letter, it says I did not have
enough experience. How dare they! But if
I don't do the job,
how do I get the experience?
Rob: Oh dear, it sounds like catch-22.
Feifei: Catch-22? Is that some kind of
qualification I need?
Rob: Nope, it just describes a situation
where you can't win. Basically, you can't
do one thing until you have done another
thing which you can't do until you have
done the first thing.
Feifei: So it's an impossible situation.
Rob: It is. Let's hear some examples of
this phrase in action…
I need my parent car, but my mum says I
need permission from my dad, then my
dad says I need permission from my
mum. I can't get permission from either.
So I'm in a catch-22 situation.
To apply for a short-term student visa to
study English in the UK, you have to be
able to speak some English but you want
to come to England to learn English! It's
catch-22 for many potential students.
Feifei: You're listening to The English We
Speak and Rob has told me I'm in a catch-22
situation. That's a situation I cannot win.
Rob: Yes Feifei, so you can't get a new job
without some experience of doing it but
you can't get the experience with doing
the job. So it's catch-22!
Feifei: It's a strange phrase Rob.
Rob: Yes, it comes from the title of a
book, Catch-22, written by Joseph Heller
in 1961 which describes bureaucratic
constraints on soldiers in World War II.
But look Feifei, don't be too sad about the
job, you've got plenty of experience for
doing this job.
Feifei: That's because I've been here for
40 years!
Rob: But we respect you for expertise,
especially in one task.
Feifei: What's that?
Rob: Making the tea. Now could you put
the kettle on please?
Feifei: Oh, I really need a new job.
Rob: Bye.
Feifei: Bye.