Consolation success or a consolation
achievement is when you put a lot of effort and
concentration into achieving something or getting better at something, and only after you've tried for so long that you begin to give up, do things start to "work out" for you. Often, it is more of a slap
in the face than a happy acquisition. The consolation comes in giving you your success only because you worked yourself so hard that you gave up and life begins to feel sorry for you. God's way of playing keep away perhaps.
"After so many years in the movie business and his
involvement in tonnes of great films,
Christopher Plummer only received his first oscar in 2012, at the age of 83. That
consolation success must feel more painful than if he retired with no award at all."