candle

bell, book, and candle: seebell.

burn the candle at both ends: seeburn.

cannot hold a candle to be nowhere near as good as. informal

☞ In the 16th century, an assistant would literally hold a candle to his superior by standing beside him with a candle to provide enough light for him to work by. The modern version suggests that the subordinate is so far inferior that he is unfit to perform even this humble task.

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'.

2010Guardian The argument that being able to deploy missiles off another country's coast without anyone being any the wiser is valid, but consider the costs against the benefits. Is the game worth the candle?