Dictionary

hold a candle en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˌhɐʉ̯ld ə ˈkɛn.dəl/ (New-Zealand)
• /ˌhəʉ̯ld ə ˈkæn.dəl/ (Australia)
• /ˌhoʊ̯ld ə ˈkæn.dəl/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˌhold ə ˈkan.dəl/ (Scotland)
• audio AuE
• /ˌhoːlɖ a ˈkan.ɖel/ (India)
• /ˌhəʊ̯ld ə ˈkan.dəl/ (Received-Pronunciation, contemporary)
• hōld′ ə kăn′dəl
• /ˌhəʊ̯ld ə ˈkæn.dəl/ (Received-Pronunciation) conservative

Etymology

From the custom of apprentices to a master holding a candle so that the master could see more clearly. The negative version implies that a person who was not fit even for such a simple task was worthless.

Meanings

1. (in the negative) To compare; to be even remotely of the same quality, skill, etc. as another.
   • But not a soul in Flychett could hold a candle to Yeobright. 1878 January–December, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], published 1878, →OCLC, book I (The Three Women), page 105:
   • The old computer just doesn't hold a candle to the latest models.
   • “Tesla is the only path that could even hope to hold a candle to Google,” he [Elon Musk] wrote. “Even then, the probability of being a counterweight to Google is small. It just isn’t zero.” 2026 April 23, Cade Metz, “Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s Epic Fight Heads to Court”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • "I know, dear, it is I," his thin wife answered with a meek smile. "I was beautiful, there was no doubt about it, when you married me." "You were, my dear," agreed her husband: "As a girl few could hold a candle to you." 1908, Jerome K. Jerome, The Philosopher's Joke:
   • “[…]Speaking of pretty girls, my sister, Eileen, is a pretty girl. She is a downright beautiful girl.” “Yes,” said Donald, “she is, but she can’t hold a candle to you. How did she look when she was your age?” 1921, Gene Stratton-Porter, Her Father's Daughter:
   • Thirty miles north of CosMc’s, the McDonald’s No 1 Store Museum once stood, a replica of the company’s stunning post-war sci fi Googie architecture that CosMc’s’ retro-details barely hold a candle to. 2023 December 14, Pearse Anderson, “‘Lonely, gray and being actively colonized by corporations’: we tried the McDonald’s spinoff, CosMc’s”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • Old or young, I felt sure she could never at any time have holden a candle to that admirable lady, Alice Claiborne, now in some despite for her sake. 1901, William Henry Babcock, The Tower of Wye: A Romance, page 156:

Forms

Relateds

hold a candle for

Translations (17)

fr arriver à la cheville (ne pas arriver à la cheville de) (be even remotely of the same quality) · pl dorastać do pięt (be even remotely of the same quality) · de jemandem nicht das Wasser reichen können (be even remotely of the same quality) · fi painia samassa sarjassa (be even remotely of the same quality) · es llegar a la suela del zapato (be even remotely of the same quality) · pt chegar aos pés (be even remotely of the same quality) · hu nem lehet egy napon említeni (be even remotely of the same quality) · hu a kisujjával sem ér fel (be even remotely of the same quality) · pl umywać się do (be even remotely of the same quality) · ru в подмётки не годи́ться (be even remotely of the same quality) · th เทียบได้ (be even remotely of the same quality) · th เทียบติด (be even remotely of the same quality) · fi pärjätä (be even remotely of the same quality) · cs sahat po kotníky (be even remotely of the same quality) · cmn 望其项背 (be even remotely of the same quality) · fr faire le poids (be even remotely of the same quality) · es llegar a los talones (be even remotely of the same quality)