We all know what a pyrrhic victory is.

It isn't so well known that pyrrhic is also a noun, meaning both a dance performed while wearing armour, and the metrical foot of a warsong (such as one which accompanies a pyrrhic dance).

Now for my question: what's a pyrrhic loss?

what's a pyrrhic loss?

Well, if it is a loss that is offset by staggering gains, I'd like one, please! I guess the theme song for the old TV show "The Beverly Hillbillies" describes that
(this is from memory, and may not be exact):
"Let me tell you all a story 'bout a man named Jed;
Poor mountaineer, barely kept his fam'ly fed;
And then one day, he was shootin' at some food,
And up through the ground come a-bubblin' crude---
Oil, that is. Black gold. Texas tea."
So--he lost his food, but gained an oil field.

The Dupont chemist who discovered Teflon when an accident happened to an experiment.

The candymaker who overcooked a batch of fudge and created Tootsie Rolls experienced a pyrrhic loss.

And the chemist who discovered the first analine dye (magenta, I believe)

And : when that mold grew in a neglected experiment ... penicillin!
Then there's the guy who wondered why burdocks stuck to his dog's fur and came up with Velcro.