Pyrrhic victory

Hollow victory / Empty victory


Vittoria di Pirro


Meanings
A victory that is accompanied by enormous losses and leaves the winners in as desperate conditions as if they had been beaten

Examples
Mr. Jones won his case to recover the $ 6,000 owed to him, but it was a hollow victory because he had to spend $ 10,000 in legal fees
Il sig. Aprili ha vinto la causa per recuperare i suoi crediti, ma è stata una vittoria di Pirro, perché per recuperare 6.000 Euro ne ha dovuti pagare 10.000 per le spese processuali

He struggled to make all the payments on his car; now he finally owns it, but it's an empty victory because he has a car but no food on the table
È riuscito a fatica e con molti sacrifici a pagare le rate della macchina; adesso la macchina è sua, ma è una vittoria di Pirro perché ha una macchina ma non ha niente da mangiare

If this bill is approved, it would be a Phyrric victory because it would harm the weak
Se questo progetto di legge venisse approvato, sarebbe una vittoria di Pirro perché danneggerebbe i più deboli

Origin
Pyrrhus was a general who, after defeating the Romans in the third century B.C., told those who wished to congratulate him: "One more such victory and Pyrrhus is undone"