英语词汇hold a candle to的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

hold a candle to. It was common in the 16th century and lat- er for servants holding candles to guide their masters along the poorly lighted streets of English cities. Theaters also employed candle-holders called link-boys in the days before gas lighting. These were among the most menial of jobs, but some poor wights failed at them for not knowing the roads or the layout of a theater, and they were said to be not worthy to hold a candle to anyone. This expression soon came to be used in the sense of comparing the abilities of two people, he can’t hold a candle to you, meaning “he’s greatly inferior to you.”

词汇	hold a candle to
词源	hold a candle to. It was common in the 16th century and lat- er for servants holding candles to guide their masters along the poorly lighted streets of English cities. Theaters also employed candle-holders called link-boys in the days before gas lighting. These were among the most menial of jobs, but some poor wights failed at them for not knowing the roads or the layout of a theater, and they were said to be not worthy to hold a candle to anyone. This expression soon came to be used in the sense of comparing the abilities of two people, he can’t hold a candle to you, meaning “he’s greatly inferior to you.”
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