"Sometimes even certain defeat is worth the effort!" Usually when the defeat furthered a larger plan, but it still counted, probably. For the purposes of the statement, if nothing else.

And it was a little thing, but Loki did enjoy laughter when it wasn't at him, so he grinned quickly at Clarice. "Perhaps you're simply sharpening your instincts so as to annihilate other, lesser smart asses later."