phrase
Greek
also: Roman History
Pyrrhic Victory
A win so costly it amounts to a defeat.
Origin
King Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated the Romans at the Battle of Asculum in 279 BCE but lost so many of his best men in the process that he reportedly said, 'Another such victory and I am undone.' He went home and his campaign collapsed.
Modern usage
Standard vocabulary in politics, law, sports, and business for a win that costs more than it returns. 'A pyrrhic victory in court' = you won the case but exhausted your resources doing it.
In the wild
The acquisition closed, but it was a pyrrhic victory โ both founders quit within a year.โ tech press
Tags
victory
cost
war