Kobayashi Maru

English

Etymology

From the fictional Kobayashi Maru test, first introduced in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a training exercise in which Starfleet cadets face an intentionally unwinnable scenario as a test of character. The test involves the rescue of an eponymous vessel, named by Star Trek II screenwriter Jack B. Sowards after his neighbours, from the Japanese family name Kobayashi and maru (a suffix of Japanese ship names).

Noun

Kobayashi Maru (plural Kobayashi Marus)

1. (informal) A scenario with no positive or favourable outcome; a no-win situation.
   • 2010, April Winchell, Regretsy: Where DIY Meets WTF‎^[1], page 121:

     Christmas is the Kobayashi Maru of holidays. It is unwinnable.

   • 2015, Scott Meyer, An Unwelcome Quest‎^[2], page 265:

     Martin said, “Gwen, do you understand that there’s no right answer to that? You've asked me the Kobayashi Maru of questions. There’s no possible way to answer that won't make you mad.”

   • 2016, Hillary Manton Lodge, Together at the Table‎^[3], page 81:

     “You might not be able to win,” I said. “It may be the Kobayashi Maru of seating arrangements.”

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Kobayashi Maru.