Pyhrrus of Epirus is credited with coining the quote. Explanation for the 'win the battle, but lose the war' phrase in the Phrases.com dictionary. You can just as easily say "Win the battle *only* to lose the war". But essentially it is an analytic strategem meaning, that the ends have to justify the means or cost. Win the battle but lose the war. Just because you win a few of the games (battles), does not mean thar you will win the entire competition (war). In ancient times, the … In Reply to: Win the battle to lose the war posted by Smokey Stover on August 08, 2005: : : Someone said this to me the other day,what's the meaning of it? What does the 'win the battle, but lose the war' phrase mean? The party that controls the White House tends to lose seats in the midterms. A Pyrrhic victory (/ ˈ p ɪr ɪ k / PIRR-ik) is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat.A Pyrrhic victory takes a heavy toll that negates any true sense of achievement or damages long-term progress. Posted by Brian from Shawnee on August 08, 2005. Republicans Lose Stimulus Battle, but May Still Win 2022 War Jacob Jarvis 1 hr ago. The Great Peloponnesian War, also called the First Peloponnesian War, was the first major scuffle between them. A war typically has many battles. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. EDIT: Original question answered: What is the meaning of the saying "to lose the battle but to win the war". Definitions, usage examples and translations inside. The phrase originates from a quote from Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose triumph against the Romans in the Battle … There is no better example of this saying than the infamous Second Punic War. Won the battle, but lost the war - Idioms by The Free Dictionary ... You can also say that you lose the battle, but win the war, meaning the opposite. The Battle of Stalingrad was a brutal military campaign between Russian forces and those of Nazi Germany and the Axis powers during World War II. The Battle of Hastings was a bloody, all-day battle fought on October 14, 1066 between English and Norman forces. Very much so that a hard won victory can leave you breathless, weak and defenseless. Betty Hyde may have lost the battle, but she won the war and took … On second thought, a small but critical word could have been omitted. To win the entire competiton (war in this example) you have to win multiple games (battles). Let's say you're in a competition. To win a battle and lose the war means that you have used up so much in winning one battle that you have nothing left to fight on and win the war. What does won the battle, but lost the war expression mean? This is usually referred to as a Pyrrhic victory. It became a 15-year conflict between Athens and Sparta and their allies. The phrase is "Win the battle *but* lose the war", not *to* lose the war. "(You will) Win the battle to lose the war" can't exactly remember if he said "you will" so …