Question

Can't Hold a Candle To to be second-rate in a certain skill; to be greatly inferior

Accepted Answer

Anita can't hold a candle to Jon when it comes to tap dancing. In the 1500s, long before the days of good lighting, a servant called a "link-boy" held candles for people. This was considered a lowly job done by those who were thought to be inferior. If a link-boy did not know the roads or the layout of a theater, then he was said to be "not worthy to hold a candle to someone." Thus, the expression "can't hold a candle to" came to mean lower in order, rank, quality, or value.

Idiom	Can't Hold a Candle To
Example	Anita can't hold a candle to Jon when it comes to tap dancing.
Meaning	to be second-rate in a certain skill; to be greatly inferior
Origin	In the 1500s, long before the days of good lighting, a servant called a "link-boy" held candles for people. This was considered a lowly job done by those who were thought to be inferior. If a link-boy did not know the roads or the layout of a theater, then he was said to be "not worthy to hold a candle to someone." Thus, the expression "can't hold a candle to" came to mean lower in order, rank, quality, or value.

Hold Candle Anita Jon Tap Dancing Second Rate Skill