hold a candle
Verb
Meaning
hold a candle (third-person singular simple present holds a candle, present participle holding a candle, simple past and past participle held a candle)
(idiomatic) To compare; to be even remotely of the same quality, skill, etc. as another. [from mid 16th c.]
The old computer just doesn't hold a candle to the latest models.
Related terms
Examples
So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear. That there is no alternative way, so far discovered, of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system.
Hell, I'm not saying I'm an angel, but when it came to dirty tricks I couldn't hold a candle to the Irish Mafia.
Alone. Yes, that's the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym.
Sure, jets are fast and economical, but, oh my, what fun we've lost and what leisure we've sacrificed in the race to efficiency. Somehow, stepping onto a plane and zooming across the United States in a matter of hours doesn't hold a candle to the dear, old-fashioned train ride.
One must sometimes hold a candle to the devil.
It is sometimes good to hold a candle to the devil.