Explanation: When the great Greek general Pyrrhus of Epirus warred with Rome, crossing the sea with a force of veteran soldiers and war elephants, he won several victories against the Romans. The problem was that the Romans were seemingly infinitely stubborn, and his victories did not translate into a cessation of Roman resistance - but they did result in significant, and irreplaceable, casualties to his expeditionary force. Supposedly, he commented after the Battle of Asculum, “One more such victory against the Romans, and we are ruined.”

Thus, we get the term ‘Pyrrhic Victory’ for a victory that costs so much it may as well be a defeat!