can't hold a candle to
An expression describing a person or thing that is distinctly inferior to someone or something else: “Senator Nelson is extremely knowledgeable, but as a speaker, he can't hold a candle to Senator Delano.”
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Nearby words
can't complain, can't do anything with, can't fight city hall, can't help, can't hit the broad side of a barn, can't hold a candle to, can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, can't make head or tail of, can't punch one's way out of a paper bag, can't see beyond the end of one's nose., can't see the forest for the trees
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
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