Une victoire à la Pyrrhus
Meaning: A win whose cost makes it indistinguishable from defeat.
Language: French
Literally: A Pyrrhic victory
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Pyrrhus of Epirus beat the Romans at Asculum in 279 BC and is reported to have said another such victory would finish him. He was right, and lost the war.
More idioms — Daily Life
- En quarantaine — In quarantine; isolated from contact.
- Tomber en quenouille — To decline into neglect; to fall apart through mismanagement.
- Sans queue ni tête — Making no sense at all.
- Être sur le qui-vive — To be tensely alert.
- En rade — Stranded; left behind.
- Faire du ramdam — To make a great deal of noise.
More French idioms
- Un remède de bonne femme — A folk cure of doubtful value.
- Tirer sa révérence — To take one's leave, with a show of formality.
- À tour de rôle — Each in turn.
- Un rond-de-cuir — A petty bureaucrat.
- Au bout du rouleau — Completely exhausted; at the end of one's resources.
- Hommes de sac et de corde — Thorough scoundrels.
From our compliments & insults
- Tu as le vent en poupe — Everything is going your way — you're riding a wave of momentum and success.
- Tu es un as — You're brilliant at what you do — the very best.
- Tu as de la répartie — You're brilliantly quick-witted — always ready with the perfect comeback.
Browse all compliments & insults →
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