a Pyrrhic victory
Meaning: A win that costs so much it is almost a defeat.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “They won the price war, but it was a Pyrrhic victory: they're nearly bankrupt.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: King Pyrrhus of Epirus beat the Romans at Heraclea (280 BC) and Asculum (279 BC) but lost so many men that, according to Plutarch, he said another such victory would ruin him.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Une victoire à la Pyrrhus — literally: A Pyrrhic victory
More idioms — Daily Life
- go to rack and ruin — To fall into a state of decay through neglect.
- an old wives' tale — A traditional belief, especially about health, that is not true.
- a pen-pusher — A clerk or bureaucrat doing dull paperwork.
- a word to the wise — A hint or warning that a sensible person will heed.
- a shot across the bow — A warning of more serious action to come.
- a witch hunt — A campaign to find and punish people, driven by fear or suspicion rather than evidence.
More English idioms
- on one's toes — Alert and ready to react.
- left high and dry — Stranded or abandoned without help.
- blood will tell — Family background and inherited character eventually show.
- at a snail's pace — Very slowly.
- no picnic — Not easy or pleasant.
- the lean years — A period of hardship and scarcity.
From our tongue twisters
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. — A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
- She sells seashells by the seashore. — The definitive 's' versus 'sh' alternation — the tongue has to switch place of articulati…
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. — A relentless 'p' plosive drill; a peck is an old dry measure of about nine litres.