cadmean victory
Preserved but no longer current.
A victory purchased with great loss. The allusion is to the armed men who sprang out of the ground from the teeth of the dragon sown by Cadmus (q.v ), who fell foul of each other, only five escaping death.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “cadmean victory” mean?
A victory purchased with great loss. The allusion is to the armed men who sprang out of the ground from the teeth of the dragon sown by Cadmus (q.v ), who fell foul of each other, only five escaping death.
Is “cadmean victory” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.