no-win situation
11
5.3
- noun
:
situación sin salida
- Teachers in this environment, according to interview responses, often acquire negative attitudes and feel trapped in a no-win situation.
No, this is a no win situation.
- No, this is a no win situation.
- And so that that puts them into a a deep no, no win situation.
Examples
-
To put it charitably, the United States may have placed itself in a classic no-win situation.
Academic text (1991) -
One way to break out of this no-win situation would be to invite international observers.
Academic text (1990) -
You telling me that 200 men against your boy is a no win situation for us?
-
We're in a no-win situation.
-
In one sense, the executive faces a no-win situation.
Academic text (1994) -
I never heard the outcome of either case, but it certainly seemed like a no-win situation.
Blog text (10) -
The woman felt like she was sinning, but she was in a no-win situation.
Blog text (34) -
Coach, I'm afraid I've put you into a no-win situation.
-
Hector is in the classic, timeless, no-win situation and he knows it.
Fiction book (1993) -
In negotiations, they realized they were in a no-win situation where neither side could achieve their goals.
Synonyms
258
4.2
A situation where you must choose between two or more bad options
18
9.6
A situation where you cannot win because rules block every choice
12
5.1
An effort that is not likely to succeed
Antonyms
How Winnable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'no-win' (= without a winning outcome) combined with 'situation' (= circumstances) yields a situation where no option leads to a win or satisfactory result. This formation follows straightforward English compounding and is readily inferable by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
No-win situation paints a simple picture of a game or fight where there is no way to win. So it means a problem where every choice leads to a 'bad result'.