C2idiomsuccessIELTS-friendly
a hollow victory
USUK
a win that brings no real benefit or satisfaction
More common in writing and news. Compare 'a Pyrrhic victory', which is a win that costs too much.
In context
Winning the argument was a hollow victory, because we stopped speaking afterwards.
The company won the court case, but it was a hollow victory after years of legal fees.
More idioms about success
- a blessing in disguisesomething that seems bad at first but later brings a good result
- a close calla situation in which you only just avoid danger or failure
- a dream come truesomething you have wanted for a long time that has finally happened
- a feather in your capan achievement that you can be proud of and that may help you later
- a flash in the pana sudden success that does not last or happen again