What does it Mean to ‘Hold a Candle to (someone or something)’?

To hold a candle to someone or something means —

• to be as good as someone or something;
• to be comparable to something or someone.

This expression is often used with a negative, as in — Does not hold a candle to someone.

For example —

“The new book is good, but it does not hold a candle to the author’s previous work.”

It means that this new book by the author is although good, but not as good as his previous one.

This expression comes from a period before the invention of electricity. At that time, many teachers of arts and sciences kept many apprentices or pupils under their tutelage. The students, in turn, would serve their masters faithfully.

If the master or the teacher needed to work meticulously at night, they needed someone to hold a candle to them. This task usually fell on the shoulders of the least able student. So, if the teacher wanted to reprimand or scold his students, he would taunt them by saying that they are not even worthy of holding a candle to him.

Thus, to hold a candle to someone became synonymous with ‘to be comparable or as good as something else’.

I hope you found this story interesting. If you did, buy my full course on Udemy or watch it for free on Skillshare by signing up here. This course covers nearly 380 idioms with their origins and backstories.

Hi, I am Gauri Shanker, a Vocab teacher and enthusiast. I teach vocabulary in a fun and engaging way. You can check out my courses here.