Use “Pyrrhic victory” for a win achieved at such a high cost that the victory is effectively hollow or not worth winning. The guide stays with current documented meaning and does not assert unsupported origin chronology.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionPhrases & Idioms
Quick answer
Use “Pyrrhic victory” for a win achieved at such a high cost that the victory is effectively hollow or not worth winning.
Key details
Canonical Formpyrrhic victory
Core Meaninga victory whose costs or losses are so great that the win is not worth what it took to achieve
Further guidance
History Boundary
Current dictionary-supported meaning is published without claiming an exact inventor, coinage date, or absolute first use.
Meaning
a victory whose costs or losses are so great that the win is not worth what it took to achieve
Usage Boundary
Reserve it for victories where the price of winning seriously undermines the value of the success, not simply for any difficult win.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
“Between a rock and a hard place” describes being trapped in a very difficult situation that requires a hard choice. This guide publishes the current meaning supported by Cambridge and does not add an unsupported exact-origin chronology.
A “can of worms” is a complicated situation that produces many further problems when you begin to deal with it. Cambridge marks the idiom informal. Use it for a problem that opens into further complications, not merely for a single isolated difficulty.
A “Catch-22” describes an impossible situation in which one requirement depends on another condition that cannot be met first. Use it for a self-defeating dependency or circular trap, not merely for any difficult choice or ordinary dilemma.
“Come hell or high water” expresses strong determination to proceed despite difficulties or obstacles. It is emphatic and informal, so its tone may be stronger than needed in neutral professional prose.
“Come rain or shine” expresses commitment or certainty despite changing conditions. It can refer literally to weather, but its ordinary idiomatic use is broader: something will happen regardless of difficulties or circumstances.
“Cross that bridge when we come to it” means deal with a possible problem if and when it actually arises instead of worrying about it in advance. An 1851 Longfellow text directly preserves an older negative form and explicitly calls it an old proverb.
Double bind describes a trap created by incompatible expectations or choices. In ordinary writing it can describe a practical dilemma; specialist psychological uses can carry narrower theoretical meanings.
“Face the music” means accept criticism, punishment, or responsibility for something you have done. The guide gives the current meaning without attaching an unsupported exact origin date.
