I'm looking for a word I use to use and the word starts with a p.
2006-06-09 08:02:51 · 4 answers · asked by Riggs 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
This word originated from a warrior who won a war - but at a terrific price.
2006-06-09 08:09:10 · update #1
Pyrrhic victory \PIR-ik\, noun:
A victory achieved at great or excessive cost; a ruinous victory.
Technically it was a victory for the British, who attacked the patriot fortifications -- but a Pyrrhic victory if ever there was: out of 2,200 British soldiers 1,034 were killed or wounded, including one in nine of all the officers the British lost in the whole war.
-- Geoffrey Wheatcroft, "A Revolutionary Itinerary", The Atlantic, April 2001
2006-06-09 08:18:38 · answer #1 · answered by Jimmy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You mean a "Pyrrhic victory", and it isn't just bittersweet. It's very, very costly. D-Day may be an example of a Pyrrhic victory.
It is name after Pyrrhus, who attained such a costly victory.
2006-06-09 11:29:10 · answer #2 · answered by Kevin F 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
pyrrhic victory - a victory earned at great cost to the winner
2006-06-09 16:20:40 · answer #3 · answered by jimbob 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rubbing alcohol on a fruitcake for Pat Robertson.
2006-06-09 08:05:56 · answer #4 · answered by taogent 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋