can't hold a candle to

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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.”

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

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Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

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Words nearby can't hold a candle to

cantharides, cantharus, can't help, can't hit the broad side of a barn, Can-Tho, can't hold a candle to, cant hook, canthus, canticle, Canticle of Canticles, canticum

How to use can't hold a candle to in a sentence

Blacks would hold about 13 percent of the seats and Latinos 17 percent.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
ROME — What does it take for a Hollywood A-lister to get a private audience with Pope Francis?
Pope Francis Has the Pleasure of Meeting Angelina Jolie for a Few Seconds|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Tomorrow they should hold placards of the cartoons Charlie Hebdo had printed.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yeah, the “Giant man-puppy” that is Gronkowski won't hold a sexual candle to the blue-eyed dreamboat.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But how much they have regained or how durable their hold is remains unclear.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Most of the men leaped up, caught hold of spears or knives, and rushed out.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
He was too drowsy to hold the thought more than a moment in his mind, much less to reflect upon it.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
Each day she resolved, "To-morrow I will tell Felipe;" and when to-morrow came, she put it off again.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
All the operations of her brain related themselves somehow to to-morrow afternoon.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
Now-a-days it is the bankrupt who flouts, and his too confiding creditors who are jeered and laughed at.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley