not worth the candle

Related to not worth the candle: The game is not 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.
See also: candle, not, worth
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

not worth the candle

BRITISH, OLD-FASHIONED
If something is not worth the candle, it is not worth the trouble or effort which is needed in order to achieve or obtain it. Harrison has described the reforms proposed by the governor as `not worth the candle'. Note: You can also talk about the game being worth the candle. He can boast that he married the richest woman in the world. But he must sometimes wonder whether the game was worth the candle. Note: This expression originally referred to a game of cards where the amount of money that people were competing for was less than the cost of the candle used up during the game.
See also: candle, not, worth
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

not worth the candle

not justifiable because of the trouble or cost involved.
The idea behind this idiom is that expenditure on a candle to provide light for an activity would not be recouped by the profits from that activity. The expression comes from the French phrase le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle , ‘the game is not worth the candle’.
1998 New Scientist But what if, instead of one … five, fifteen or fifty people…have to endure such an existence? At what point does the game cease to be worth the candle?
See also: candle, not, worth
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • game is not worth the candle, the
  • end game
  • (as) poor as a Job's turkey
  • even Homer (sometimes) nods
  • homer
  • Homeric nod
  • get in/into one's hair, to
  • a security blanket
  • strike out at (something or some place)
  • way off base
References in periodicals archive
There could be some loss of enterprise from tax-shy individuals who feel the game is not worth the candle if the Government takes 18 per cent of the proceeds - but not enough, surely, to revive the debilitating offshore culture of the 1990s.
Cash-strapped Darling playing a desperate game of chance
"These kind of allegations and tactics will ultimately persuade people this is not worth the candle. Our goal is to attract as many bidders as possible."
Malden Mills bankruptcy case reopened; Judge shifts proceedings to Worcester
Whichever way the eventual verdicts fall, if it not a purifying journey then perhaps we are not worth the candle. Or the saving.
Horse Racing: A hill of beans that may fall on us all; This wonderful sport
'They might decide it is not worth the candle and get on with abandoning GCSE and do a three year programme of study,' he said.
Watchdog signals 'end of GCSEs'
FLA director general Martin Hall said: "In the longer run the OFT may make it not worth the candle for lenders to offer zero introductory rates and consumers would lose out and new entrants would find it harder to enter the market place."
Credit card firms agree to crackdown on advertising
Ms Hewitt backed down because the game was not worth the candle, but the Government was also anxious about a growing revolt against the measure among Labour MPs.
Paul Routledge's column: PATRICIA Hewitt
He remarked: "Criminals from Liverpool who are concerned in the supplying of heroin or any other Class A drug in this area must come to realise that the game is not worth the candle."
five years in jail for city drug dealer; Criminal was caught red-handed with PS32,000 of cocaine