MEME REFERENCE

"We did it, Patrick! We saved the City!"

Use to celebrate a supposed success when the attempted solution has actually caused enormous damage or made the problem worse.

What it expresses

Self-congratulation ignores the destruction produced by the 'rescue.'

Example

After removing one spam post by accidentally deleting the entire forum, an admin jokes, 'We did it—we saved the community.'

When not to use it

A careful fix solves the problem without collateral harm; ironic failure-celebration would be undeserved.

• we saved the city
• pyrrhic success
• collateral damage
• ironic celebration