Cadmean victory

American  

noun

1. a victory attained at as great a loss to the victor as to the vanquished.

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Cadmean victory British  

/ ˈkædmɪən /

noun

1. another name for Pyrrhic victory

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Etymology

Origin of Cadmean victory

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

Yet he who thought he ought to have a Cadmean victory, carried on his conquest.

From Project Gutenberg

It would be a Cadmean victory in which the victor would suffer as much as the vanquished.

From Project Gutenberg

So it is that partly conquering and partly defeated, sometimes gaining the mastery over others and again falling prostrate themselves, some are altogether annihilated and others gain a Cadmean victory, as it is called, and at a time when the knowledge can avail them nothing they perceive that their plans were ill drawn.

From Project Gutenberg

With averted face she held out the envelope, then the curtain fell; and in solitude the aching heart went over the fatal field, silently burying its slain hopes, realizing the bitterness of its Cadmean victory.

From Project Gutenberg