hold a candle

Probably from the custom of apprentices to a trade holding a candle so the master worker could see clearly. A person who was not even fit for such a simple task was worthless.

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hold a candle (third-person singular simple present holds a candle, present participle holding a candle, simple past and past participle held a candle)

1. (idiomatic) To compare; to be even remotely of the same quality, skill, etc. as another.

   The old computer just doesn't hold a candle to the latest models.

• Typically used in the negative when something does not compare, as in the example.

• hold a candle for

• “not hold a candle to” (US) / “not hold a candle to” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “hold”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.