| Futile |
| Hopeless |
| Lose-lose |
| Impossible |
| Beyond help |
| Unsalvageable |
| _____ situation |
| Like a Catch-22 |
| Sure to end badly |
| Type of situation |
| Kind of situation |
| Hopeless situation |
| Grim, as a situation |
| Situation for a tie? |
| Like some situations |
| It's a ___ situation! |
| Bad kind of situation |
| Futile, as a situation |
| Hopeless, as a situation |
| Like hopeless situations |
| Certain to end in failure |
| Certain kind of situation |
| Like a hopeless situation |
| Like a lose-lose situation |
| Hopeless, as situations go |
| Like a choice between evils |
| Like a frustrating situation |
| Like an impossible situation |
| Unprofitable, as a situation |
| Offering only unhappy outcomes |
| Hopeless, as a situation: Hyph. |
| Having only unfavorable outcomes |
| Like a deadlocked situation: Hyph. |
| Darned-if-you-do, darned-if-you-don't |
| Sure to end in failure, as a situation |
| Impossible, and hint to this puzzle's theme |
| Like a situation where a good outcome is impossible: Hyph. |