Frank Bruni, on the front page of the New York Times, declares Ellen DeGeneres’ and Portia di Rossi’s marriage a “Sapphic Victory, but Pyrrhic.”
I’m sure Mr. Bruni and his editors were tickled by their alliterative phraseology and use of high falutin’ ancient Greek language. However.
A “Pyrrhic victory” means a victory gained at too great a cost to the victor.
I doubt that either Ellen or Portia would describe their happily married life as a Pyrrhic victory. Actually, I’m pretty sure that neither would view their marriage as a victory, except of love.
Let’s leave the cutesy, alliterative, oh-so-clever headline writing to the New York Post, shall we, Mr. Bruni, and Mr. Sulzberger and Mr. Keller?
I still remember my first encounter with the word “pyrrhic.” It was while playing a computer game way back in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s.
It was a computer game based upon WWII and when my troops, etc. would take a given area, but at great cost, the computer would describe the outcome as a “pyrrhic victory”.
Had to look that one up! Thanks the Maker for Webster’s.