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candle
candle in the wind
Something that is particularly vulnerable, weak, fragile, or precarious and likely to fail, perish, or be eliminated at any moment. The revolutionaries' bid for freedom is but a candle in the wind at this point, likely to be crushed by the dictator's regime. We all like to think we'll live forever, but we are really just candles in the wind.
doesn't hold a candle
Is not nearly as good or desirable as someone or something else. Can also be used with "can't." The sequel wasn't bad, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original. John's fast all right, but he can't hold a candle to Louise!
The game is not worth the candle.
The outcome, product, or returns of this activity or undertaking are not worth the time and resources that it requires. An allusion to gambling by candlelight, a significant expense at one point in time. If the winnings were not sufficient, then they didn't warrant the needless use of a candle. The local council considered the construction of a new power grid throughout the county, but because it would cost millions and only marginally increase efficiency compared to the current infrastructure, they decided that the game wasn't worth the candle.
not worth the candle
Said of an activity or undertaking whose outcome, product, or returns are not worth the time and resources that it requires. An allusion to gambling by candlelight, a significant expense at one point in time. If the winnings were not sufficient, then they didn't warrant the needless use of a candle. The local council considered the construction of a new power grid throughout the county, but because it would cost millions and only marginally increase efficiency compared to the current infrastructure, they decided that it wasn't worth the candle.
bell, book, and candle things that are miraculous or that signal that something
unusual or bizarre may soon happen. (Alluding originally to the items used when performing the rite of excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church.) Look, I can't work miracles! Do you expect me to show up at your house with bell, book, and candle, and make everything right? You have to take charge of your own destiny! On the top shelf of the tiny used-book store, Jim saw a bell, book, and candle sitting in a row, and he knew he was going to find some very interesting reading material.
burn the candle at both ends
Fig. to work very hard and stay up very late at night. (One end of the candle is work done in the daylight, and the other end is work done at night.) No wonder Mary is ill. She has been burning the candle at both ends for a long time. You'll wear out if you keep burning the candle at both ends.
can't hold a candle to someone
Fig. not [to be] equal to someone; unable to measure up to someone. (Also with cannot.) Mary can't hold a candle to Ann when it comes to athletics. As for singing, John can't hold a candle to Jane.
not hold a stick to someone or something
and not hold a candle to someone or somethingFig. not to be nearly as good as someone or something. Sally is much faster than Bob. Bob doesn't hold a stick to Sally. This TV doesn't hold a candle to that one. That one is much better.
burn the candle at both ends
to regularly stay awake late and get up early because you are too busy I'm busy trying to get ready for the holidays and burning the candle at both ends.
somebody/something can't hold a candle to somebody/something else
also somebody/something doesn't hold a candle to somebody/something else someone or something is not as good as someone or something else
For Walter, basketball and football can't hold a candle to baseball. Usage notes: sometimes used in the form something can hold a candle to something else: Not one of her drawings can hold a candle to yours.
burn the candle at both ends
to get little sleep or rest because you are busy until late every night and you get up early every morning (usually in continuous tenses) She'd been burning the candle at both ends studying for her exams and made herself ill.
can't hold a candle to somebody/something
if someone or something cannot hold a candle to someone or something else, they are not as good as that other person or thing These pop bands that you hear nowadays can't hold a candle to the groups we used to listen to in the sixties.
burn the candle at both ends
Exhaust one's energies or resources by leading a hectic life. For example, Joseph's been burning the candle at both ends for weeks, working two jobs during the week and a third on weekends . This metaphor originated in France and was translated into English in Randle Cotgrave's Dictionary (1611), where it referred to dissipating one's wealth. It soon acquired its present broader meaning.
game is not worth the candle, the
The returns from an activity or enterprise do not warrant the time, money or effort required. For example, The office he is running for is so unimportant that the game's not worth the candle. This expression, which began as a translation of a term used by the French essayist Michel de Montaigne in 1580, alludes to gambling by candlelight, which involved the expense of illumination. If the winnings were not sufficient, they did not warrant the expense. Used figuratively, it was a proverb within a century.
hold a candle to, not
Also, not fit to or cannot hold a candle to. Be inferior to someone or something, as in This hotel can't hold a candle to the Palace, or This new friend of his is not fit to hold a candle to his former buddies. This expression was already a proverb in John Heywood's collection of 1546 and alludes to holding a candle to provide light for someone, at that time considered a menial chore.
hold a candle to
To compare favorably with: This film doesn't hold a candle to his previous ones.
burn the candle at both ends
Extreme effort without time to rest. The phrase, which came originally from a French expression, came to mean working so hard that you burn yourself out. In addition, because candles were once an expensive item, to burn one at both ends implied wasting valuable resources to achieve an obsession. The poet Edna St. Vincent Millay used the image in her verse:
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light